Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5148 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Raney, Lalani H.B. No. 5148
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with
7	7	Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain students at public
8	8	institutions of higher 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 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
13	13	Sec. 56.541. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
15	15	Education Coordinating Board.
16	16	(2) "Program" means the Texas Students with
17	17	Disabilities Scholarship Program established under this
18	18	subchapter.
19	19	Sec. 56.542. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
20	20	Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program is to provide
21	21	assistance in the payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable
22	22	eligible students to attend institutions of higher education.
23	23	Sec. 56.543. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF
24	24	SCHOLARSHIP. (a) The coordinating board shall administer the
25	25	program and adopt any rules necessary to implement the program or
26	26	this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult with the
27	27	student financial aid officers of institutions of higher education
28	28	and a representative from at least one of the University Centers for
29	29	Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in this state in
30	30	developing the rules.
31	31	(b) The coordinating board shall award a scholarship to each
32	32	eligible student under the program, as provided by Section 56.547.
33	33	(c) The coordinating board by rule shall develop a
34	34	disability affidavit form that may be used to establish that a
35	35	student has a disability for purposes of Section 56.544(a)(6) based
36	36	on a diagnosis by a licensed physician or other documentation
37	37	determined appropriate by the coordinating board. In developing
38	38	the disability affidavit form in a manner that ensures the form
39	39	properly verifies that a person has a disability, the coordinating
40	40	board shall consult with:
41	41	(1) at least one University Centers for Excellence in
42	42	Developmental Disabilities program in this state; or
43	43	(2) a statewide, cross-disability advocacy
44	44	organization.
45	45	(d) The coordinating board may use any available revenue,
46	46	including legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept
47	47	gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for
48	48	the purposes of this subchapter.
49	49	Sec. 56.544. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
50	50	be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
51	51	must:
52	52	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
53	53	coordinating board rules;
54	54	(2) be enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
55	55	degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
56	56	education;
57	57	(3) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
58	58	one-quarter of a full course load for an entering student in the
59	59	associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
60	60	determined by the coordinating board;
61	61	(4) have applied for any available financial aid or
62	62	assistance;
63	63	(5) comply with any additional nonacademic or
64	64	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
65	65	this subchapter; and
66	66	(6) establish that the person has a disability by:
67	67	(A) providing proof that the person:
68	68	(i) is a person with a disability as defined
69	69	by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102;
70	70	(ii) receives Supplemental Security Income
71	71	(SSI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq. on the basis of
72	72	disability or blindness;
73	73	(iii) receives Social Security Disability
74	74	Insurance (SSDI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; or
75	75	(iv) qualifies for or is receiving
76	76	vocational rehabilitation services provided through the Texas
77	77	Workforce Commission; or
78	78	(B) if the student is unable to provide proof in
79	79	accordance with Paragraph (A), completing a disability affidavit
80	80	form developed in accordance with Section 56.543(c).
81	81	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
82	82	the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
83	83	offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
84	84	Substances Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving
85	85	a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
86	86	Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
87	87	requirements under the program and has:
88	88	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
89	89	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
90	90	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
91	91	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
92	92	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
93	93	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
94	94	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
95	95	program.
96	96	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
97	97	the program if the person has completed more than the following
98	98	number of semester credit hours or the equivalent at an institution
99	99	of higher education, excluding semester credit hours or the
100	100	equivalent earned for a dual credit course:
101	101	(1) 90 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the
102	102	person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years
103	103	or less; or
104	104	(2) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if
105	105	the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more
106	106	than two years.
107	107	(d) A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
108	108	for more than:
109	109	(1) 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the
110	110	person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years
111	111	or less; or
112	112	(2) 150 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if
113	113	the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more
114	114	than two years.
115	115	(e) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
116	116	program ends on:
117	117	(1) the fourth anniversary of the initial award of a
118	118	scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
119	119	enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years or less;
120	120	(2) the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a
121	121	scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
122	122	enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more than two years
123	123	but not more than four years; or
124	124	(3) the eighth anniversary of the initial award of a
125	125	scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
126	126	enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more than four years.
127	127	Sec. 56.545. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
128	128	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
129	129	scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
130	130	scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
131	131	the person is enrolled at an institution of higher education only if
132	132	the person:
133	133	(1) is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
134	134	degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
135	135	education;
136	136	(2) is enrolled for at least one-quarter of a full
137	137	course load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree or
138	138	certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;
139	139	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
140	140	associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate; and
141	141	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
142	142	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
143	143	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
144	144	scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
145	145	felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
146	146	(Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
147	147	jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
148	148	481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
149	149	applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
150	150	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
151	151	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
152	152	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
153	153	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
154	154	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
155	155	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
156	156	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
157	157	program.
158	158	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
159	159	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
160	160	person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
161	161	next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
162	162	become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
163	163	subsequent semester or term if the person:
164	164	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
165	165	person is not eligible for a scholarship; and
166	166	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
167	167	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
168	168	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate or
169	169	baccalaureate degree or certificate only if:
170	170	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
171	171	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
172	172	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
173	173	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person
174	174	completes at least 25 percent of the semester credit hours or the
175	175	equivalent attempted in the person's most recent academic year.
176	176	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
177	177	the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
178	178	if the person enrolls in or transfers to another institution of
179	179	higher education.
180	180	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
181	181	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
182	182	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
183	183	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
184	184	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
185	185	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
186	186	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
187	187	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a scholarship
188	188	under the program:
189	189	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
190	190	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
191	191	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
192	192	(2) if the person's completion rate falls below the
193	193	satisfactory academic progress requirements of Subsection (d).
194	194	Sec. 56.546. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
195	195	the program must be applied first to the payment of tuition and
196	196	mandatory fees at an institution of higher education.
197	197	Sec. 56.547. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
198	198	scholarship awarded to an eligible student under the program for a
199	199	semester or other academic term in which the student is enrolled at
200	200	an institution of higher education is an amount determined by the
201	201	coordinating board under Subsection (b) based on the amount of
202	202	funds available for distribution and the number of eligible
203	203	applicants.
204	204	(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules and procedures
205	205	for determining the amount of the scholarship for each academic
206	206	year or during an academic year as necessary to respond to
207	207	fluctuations in the amount of funds available for distribution.
208	208	(c) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
209	209	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
210	210	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
211	211	enrolled, the amount of a scholarship award to a student who is
212	212	enrolled in less than a full course load for a student in an
213	213	associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
214	214	determined by the coordinating board.
215	215	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
216	216	student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
217	217	awarded to the student.
218	218	Sec. 56.548. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
219	219	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
220	220	with all institutions of higher education, shall prepare materials
221	221	designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
222	222	school counselors about the program and eligibility for a
223	223	scholarship under the program. The coordinating board shall
224	224	distribute to each institution of higher education and to each
225	225	school district a copy of the materials prepared under this
226	226	section.
227	227	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
228	228	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
229	229	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
230	230	requirements of the program.
231	231	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
232	232	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
233	233	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
234	234	the effective date of this Act.
235	235	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
236	236	begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
237	237	Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
238	238	for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
239	239	coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
240	240	for an academic year before the 2024-2025 academic year.
241	241	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
242	242	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
243	243	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
244	244	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
245	245	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.