By: Kuempel H.B. No. 4363
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a scholarship program for aspiring
classroom teachers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter S, to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER S: FUTURE TEXAS TEACHERS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 56.5001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Eligible institution" means a general academic
teaching institution, as defined by Section 61.003, or a private or
independent institution of higher education, as defined by Section
61.003, that operates an eligible educator preparation program.
(3) "Enrolled full-time" means enrolled for at least
twelve semester credit hours or participating in a clinical
teaching assignment or internship that meets criteria established
by State Board for Educator Certification rule for initial
certification as a classroom teacher.
(4) "Scholarship program" means the Future Texas
Teachers Scholarship Program.
Sec. 56.5002. PURPOSE. The Future Texas Teachers
Scholarship Program is created to recruit, prepare, and retain a
talented and diverse workforce of career teachers to be leaders in
their field and to provide assistance for tuition, mandatory fees,
and other usual and customary costs of attendance as provided by
Sections 56.5006 and 56.5007.
Sec. 56.5003. ELIGIBLE EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS. To
be eligible to participate in the scholarship program, an educator
preparation program must:
(1) be operated by a general academic teaching
institution or a private or independent institution of higher
education;
(2) provide a structured system of support to assist
teaching scholarship recipients to successfully complete the
educator preparation program;
(3) require additional hours of field-based
experience to students throughout their enrollment in the educator
preparation program, above the minimum hours required by State
Board for Educator Certification rule;
(4) require additional hours of clinical teaching
experience to students, above the minimum hours required by State
Board for Educator Certification rule;
(5) provide or facilitate opportunities for
scholarship recipients to participate in learning opportunities
outside of the university classroom setting; and
(6) comply with other eligibility criteria
established by coordinating board rule.
Sec. 56.5004. INITIAL STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP.
(a) To be eligible initially for a scholarship under the
scholarship program, a person must:
(1) be a Texas resident under Section 54.052;
(2) either:
(A) be enrolled full-time in an eligible
institution; or
(B) have applied for admission to an eligible
institution and enroll full-time in that institution in the
succeeding academic year;
(3) once enrolled full-time in an eligible
institution, be working toward a baccalaureate or master's degree
and on-track to be admitted to an eligible educator preparation
program, as verified by the eligible institution operating the
educator preparation program;
(4) demonstrate a commitment to pursuing a career as a
classroom teacher in a public school in this state:
(A) in a teaching field identified by the
commissioner of education as experiencing a critical shortage of
teachers in this state; or
(B) in a public school in this state in which a
majority of students enrolled are educationally disadvantaged;
(5) comply with Section 28.0256; and
(6) comply with any other academic or nonacademic
requirements adopted by the coordinating board.
(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
the scholarship program if the person has been convicted of a felony
or misdemeanor offense relating to the duties and responsibilities
of the education profession, including:
(1) an offense involving moral turpitude;
(2) an offense involving a form of sexual or physical
abuse of a minor or student or other illegal conduct in which the
victim is a minor or student;
(3) a felony offense involving the possession,
transfer, sale, or distribution of or conspiracy to possess,
transfer, sell, or distribute a controlled substance, as defined by
Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et
seq.;
(4) an offense involving the illegal transfer,
appropriation, or use of school district funds or other district
property; or
(5) an offense involving an attempt by fraudulent or
unauthorized means to obtain or alter a professional certificate or
license issued under subchapter B, Chapter 21.
Sec. 56.5005. CONTINUING STUDENT ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
scholarship under this subchapter, a person may continue to receive
a scholarship under this subchapter during each semester or term in
which the person is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the
person:
(1) demonstrates a continued commitment to pursuing a
career as a classroom teacher:
(A) in a teaching field identified by the
commissioner of education as experiencing a critical shortage of
teachers in this state; or
(B) in a public school in this state in which a
majority of students enrolled are educationally disadvantaged;
(2) remains enrolled full-time in an eligible
institution;
(3) remains enrolled in or be on-track to be admitted
to an eligible educator preparation program, as verified by the
eligible institution in which the student is enrolled;
(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward
completion of a baccalaureate or master's degree and approval to
take a teacher certification exam, as verified by the eligible
institution; and
(5) complies with any other academic or nonacademic
requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this
subchapter.
(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
scholarship under the scholarship program if the person has been
convicted of a felony or misdemeanor offense described by Section
56.5004(b).
(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
person may not receive a scholarship under this subchapter during
the next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
become eligible to receive a scholarship under this subchapter in a
subsequent semester or term if the person:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
satisfactory academic progress toward a baccalaureate or master's
degree only if:
(1) in the person's first academic year the person
meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
eligible institution in which the person is enrolled; and
(2) in a subsequent academic year, the person:
(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
and
(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
previously attempted at an eligible institution.
(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
this subchapter continues to remain eligible to receive the
scholarship if the person enrolls in or transfers to an eligible
educational preparation program at another eligible institution.
(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under
this subchapter, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause
shown, including a showing of a severe illness or other
debilitating condition that may affect the person's academic
performance or that the person is responsible for the care of a
sick, injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of
care may affect the person's academic performance, to receive a
scholarship under this subchapter:
(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
hours that is less than the number required to be enrolled
full-time; or
(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
Subsection (d).
(f) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under this
subchapter ends on the earlier of:
(1) the fourth anniversary of the initial award of a
scholarship under this subchapter to the person and the person's
enrollment in an eligible institution; or
(2) the person's completion of the baccalaureate or
master's degree program described by Section 56.5004(a)(3).
Sec. 56.5006. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) Beginning with the
2024-2025 school year, the amount of a scholarship under this
subchapter is equal to the amount of the scholarship for the prior
school year, adjusted for inflation using the college tuition and
fees index component of the consumer price index produced by the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(a-1) For the 2023-2024 school year, the amount of a
scholarship under this subchapter is equal to $12,000 per school
year. This subsection expires September 1, 2024.
(b) The amount of a scholarship under this subchapter may
not be reduced by any other scholarship, grant, or financial aid
which the person receiving the scholarship receives.
(c) Not later than January 31 of each year, the coordinating
board shall publish the amounts of each scholarship established by
the board for the academic year beginning the next fall semester.
Sec. 56.5007. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A person receiving a
scholarship under this subchapter may use the money to pay any usual
and customary cost of attendance at an eligible institution
incurred by the student. The institution may disburse all or part
of the proceeds of a scholarship under this subchapter to an
eligible student only if the tuition and required fees incurred by
the person at the institution have been paid.
Sec. 56.5008. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The
coordinating board shall adopt any rules necessary to establish
eligibility criteria for educator preparation programs in
accordance with Section 56.5003 and for scholarship recipients in
accordance with Sections 56.5004 and 56.5005, to establish
procedures for the application process and for selecting
scholarship recipients from among eligible applicants, and to
administer the scholarship program.
(b) In establishing criteria for eligible educator
preparation programs under Section 56.5003, the coordinating board
shall consult with the State Board for Educator Certification. The
coordinating board shall consider the standards used by the State
Board of Educator Certification in identifying effective,
high-quality educator preparation program grounded in
evidence-based best practices and, to the maximum extent possible,
align the eligibility criteria to those standards.
(c) In establishing criteria for eligible students under
Sections 56.5004 and 56.5005, the coordinating board shall consult
with representatives of the educator preparation programs from
eligible institutions.
(d) In developing rules related to distributing a
scholarship, the coordinating board shall consult with financial
aid coordinators of eligible institutions.
(e) The total amount of scholarships awarded may not exceed
the amount available for the program from appropriations, gifts,
grants, or other funds.
(f) From money appropriated by the legislature for the
purposes of this subchapter, the coordinating board annually shall
determine the allocation of money available for scholarships among
eligible institutions and shall distribute the money accordingly.
(g) In determining who should receive a teaching
scholarship, the coordinating board shall give priority to awarding
teaching scholarships to:
(1) students who demonstrate the greatest financial
need and whose expected family contribution, as determined
according to the methodology used for federal student financial
aid, does not exceed 60 percent of the average statewide amount of
tuition and required fees;
(2) first-generation college students, as defined by
coordinating board rule; and
(3) students who demonstrate a commitment both to
entering a teaching field identified by the commissioner of
education as experiencing a critical shortage of teachers and to
teaching in a public school in this state in which a majority of
students enrolled are educationally disadvantaged.
SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 56.308, Education Code,
to read as follows:
(b) Each school district shall:
(1) notify its middle school students, junior high
school students, and high school students, those students' teachers
and school counselors, and those students' parents of the TEXAS
grant, [and] Teach for Texas grant, and Future Texas Teachers
Scholarship programs, the eligibility requirements of each
program, the need for students to make informed curriculum choices
to be prepared for success beyond high school, and sources of
information on higher education admissions and financial aid in a
manner that assists the district in implementing a strategy adopted
by the district under Section 11.252(a)(4); and
(2) ensure that each student's official transcript or
diploma indicates whether the student has completed or is on
schedule to complete:
(A) the recommended or advanced high school
curriculum required for grant eligibility under Section 28.002 or
28.025; or
(B) for a school district covered by Section
56.304(f)(1), the required portion of the recommended or advanced
high school curriculum in the manner described by Section
56.304(f)(2).
SECTION 3. This act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.