Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4330 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Bhojani H.B. No. 4330
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Grant Program
7	7	for certain students at two-year public institutions of higher
8	8	education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter U to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM
13	13	Sec. 56.601. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
15	15	Education Coordinating Board.
16	16	(2) "Eligible institution" means:
17	17	(A) a public junior college;
18	18	(B) a public technical institute; or
19	19	(C) a public state college.
20	20	(3) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program
21	21	established under this subchapter.
22	22	(4) "Public junior college," "public technical
23	23	institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
24	24	by Section 61.003.
25	25	Sec. 56.602. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
26	26	Promise Grant Program is to provide assistance in the payment of
27	27	tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students to attend
28	28	two-year institutions of higher education.
29	29	Sec. 56.603. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF GRANT.
30	30	(a) The coordinating board shall administer the program and adopt
31	31	any rules necessary to implement the program or this subchapter.
32	32	The coordinating board shall consult with the student financial aid
33	33	officers of eligible institutions in developing the rules.
34	34	(b) The coordinating board shall award a grant to each
35	35	eligible student under the program.
36	36	Sec. 56.604. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
37	37	eligible initially for a grant under the program, a person must:
38	38	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
39	39	coordinating board rules;
40	40	(2) have graduated from high school or received a high
41	41	school equivalency certificate within the last three years;
42	42	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
43	43	program at an eligible institution;
44	44	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
45	45	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
46	46	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
47	47	coordinating board;
48	48	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
49	49	assistance; and
50	50	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic or
51	51	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
52	52	this subchapter.
53	53	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
54	54	program if the person has:
55	55	(1) been granted:
56	56	(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
57	57	program; or
58	58	(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
59	59	(2) completed more than 90 semester credit hours or
60	60	the equivalent at an institution of higher education, excluding
61	61	semester credit hours or the equivalent earned for a dual credit
62	62	course.
63	63	(c) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
64	64	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
65	65	(d) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
66	66	ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
67	67	the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
68	68	institution.
69	69	Sec. 56.605. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
70	70	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
71	71	grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
72	72	under the program during each semester or term in which the person
73	73	is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
74	74	(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
75	75	program at an eligible institution;
76	76	(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
77	77	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
78	78	determined by the coordinating board;
79	79	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
80	80	associate degree or certificate; and
81	81	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
82	82	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
83	83	(b) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
84	84	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
85	85	person may not receive a grant under the program during the next
86	86	semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
87	87	eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
88	88	semester or term if the person:
89	89	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
90	90	student is not eligible for a grant; and
91	91	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
92	92	(c) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
93	93	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
94	94	certificate only if:
95	95	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
96	96	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
97	97	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
98	98	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
99	99	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
100	100	credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
101	101	recent academic year; and
102	102	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
103	103	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
104	104	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
105	105	(d) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
106	106	program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
107	107	person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
108	108	(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
109	109	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under the
110	110	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
111	111	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
112	112	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
113	113	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
114	114	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
115	115	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a grant under
116	116	the program:
117	117	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
118	118	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
119	119	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
120	120	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
121	121	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
122	122	Subsection (c).
123	123	Sec. 56.606. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
124	124	must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
125	125	at an eligible institution.
126	126	Sec. 56.607. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
127	127	awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
128	128	other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
129	129	institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
130	130	(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
131	131	mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
132	132	semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
133	133	state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
134	134	that semester or term; or
135	135	(2) $1,000.
136	136	(b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
137	137	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
138	138	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
139	139	enrolled, the amount of a grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
140	140	student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
141	141	student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
142	142	determined by the coordinating board.
143	143	(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
144	144	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
145	145	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
146	146	the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
147	147	student has been established for purposes of determining the
148	148	appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
149	149	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
150	150	student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
151	151	the student.
152	152	Sec. 56.608. COMPLETION OF ASSOCIATE DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE
153	153	PROGRAM GRANT. (a) Upon completion of an associate degree or
154	154	certificate program at an eligible institution, eligible students
155	155	will be awarded an additional grant in the amount of $1,000.
156	156	Sec. 56.609. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
157	157	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
158	158	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
159	159	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
160	160	counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant under the
161	161	program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each eligible
162	162	institution and to each school district a copy of the materials
163	163	prepared under this section.
164	164	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
165	165	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
166	166	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
167	167	requirements of the program.
168	168	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
169	169	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
170	170	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
171	171	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
172	172	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
173	173	emergency rules.
174	174	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
175	175	begin awarding grants under Subchapter U, Chapter 56, Education
176	176	Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year for which
177	177	money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
178	178	coordinating board may not award grants under that subchapter for
179	179	an academic year before the 2024-2025 academic year.
180	180	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
181	181	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
182	182	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
183	183	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
184	184	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.