By: Kolkhorst, et al. S.B. No. 25
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to support for nursing-related postsecondary education,
including scholarships to nursing students, loan repayment
assistance to nurses and nursing faculty, and grants to nursing
education programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.651(1), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Professional nursing student" means a student
enrolled in:
(A) an institution of higher education; or
(B) a nonprofit, tax-exempt, regionally
accredited college or university operating in accordance with a
memorandum of understanding with this state under an executive
order issued by the governor [a private or independent institution
of higher education] in a course of study leading to an initial or
an advanced degree in professional nursing.
SECTION 2. Section 61.655, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.655. PURPOSE; ELIGIBILITY. (a) A scholarship
program[, matching fund program,] or loan repayment program
established under this subchapter shall be established and
administered in a manner that the board determines best promotes
the health care and educational needs of this state.
(b) The board may establish multiple categories of persons
to receive scholarships[, matching funds,] and loan repayments.
The board may include faculty from professional nursing programs
with master's degrees or doctorates among the categories of persons
authorized to receive loan repayments.
(c) Each year funds are available, the board shall establish
the categories of persons eligible to receive scholarships[,
matching funds,] and loan repayments and the criteria for selecting
persons to be assisted under each category. The criteria:
(1) must include that the person be enrolled in, or
have outstanding student loans for education received at, as
applicable to the program:
(A) an institution of higher education; or
(B) a nonprofit college or university described
by Section 61.651(1)(B); and
(2) may include:
(A) [(1)] scholastic ability and performance;
(B) [(2)] financial need;
(C) [(3)] the geographical area in which the
person is likely to practice;
(D) [(4)] whether the person receives Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families [Aid to Families with Dependent
Children] or participates in another public welfare program;
(E) [(5)] employment by a state agency;
(F) [(6)] employment on a nursing school faculty
or a person's intention to seek employment on a nursing school
faculty;
(G) [(7)] whether the person is practicing in a
geographical area, a practice setting, or an area of practice with
an acute nursing shortage or is likely to practice in such an area;
(H) [(8)] the type of certificate or academic
degree held or pursued; or
(I) [(9)] any additional factors the board
considers relevant to promoting the health care and educational
needs of the state.
SECTION 3. Section 61.656, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(d) The board shall distribute information about the
scholarship program[, matching fund program,] and loan repayment
program established under this subchapter to:
(1) employers of registered nurses or licensed
vocational nurses;
(2) associations of employers;
(3) schools and educational programs for registered
nurses or licensed vocational nurses; and
(4) professional associations of registered nurses or
licensed vocational nurses.
(e) The rules adopted under this section must provide that
not more than 10 percent of the total amount of scholarships or
repayment assistance awarded under a program established under this
subchapter in a year may be awarded to persons enrolled in, or for
the repayment of student loans for education received at, as
applicable to the program, a nonprofit college or university
described by Section 61.651(1)(B).
SECTION 4. Section 61.658(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The board may structure the scholarship program[, the
matching fund program,] and the loan repayment program established
under this subchapter to secure funds available under federal
matching programs.
SECTION 5. Section 61.9822, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.9822. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive loan
repayment assistance under this subchapter, a nurse must:
(1) apply to the board;
(2) at the time of application for repayment
assistance have been employed part-time or full-time for at least
one year as, and be currently employed part-time or full-time as, a
faculty member of a nursing degree program at an institution of
higher education or a private or independent institution of higher
education; and
(3) comply with any additional requirements adopted by
board rule.
SECTION 6. Sections 61.9823(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) On qualifying for loan repayment assistance under this
subchapter, a nurse may receive repayment assistance for each year
of part-time or full-time employment as a faculty member of a
nursing degree program at an institution of higher education or
private or independent institution of higher education, not to
exceed five years.
(b) The board by rule shall determine the maximum amount of
loan repayment assistance received by a nurse under this subchapter
[may not exceed $7,000] in any one year. The board shall base the
amount of loan repayment assistance received by a nurse for
part-time employment on the proportion of the number of hours
worked by the nurse to the number of hours worked by a full-time
nurse.
SECTION 7. Sections 63.202(f) and (g), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding the limitation provided by Subsection
(b), grants awarded under Subsection (c) for the state fiscal
biennium ending on August 31, 2025 [2021], and the fiscal biennium
ending on August 31, 2027 [2023], by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board shall be awarded to programs preparing students
for initial licensure as registered nurses or programs preparing
qualified faculty members with a master's or doctoral degree for
the program, including programs at two-year institutions of higher
education, four-year general academic teaching institutions,
health science centers, and independent or private institutions of
higher education, or to the nursing resource section established
under Section 105.002(b), Health and Safety Code. In awarding
grants under this subsection, the coordinating board may:
(1) give priority to institutions proposing to address
the shortage of registered nurses by promoting innovation in
education, recruitment, and retention of nursing students and
qualified faculty;
(2) award grants on a competitive basis;
(3) consider the availability of matching funds; and
(4) fund a study by the nursing resource section to
evaluate the competencies of clinical judgment and behaviors that
professional nursing students should possess at the time of
graduation.
(g) Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1,
2027 [2023].
SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 61.653 and 61.657; and
(2) Section 61.656(c).
SECTION 9. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules necessary to administer the changes in law made by
this Act.
(b) Section 61.655, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
applies beginning with scholarships and loan repayment assistance
awarded under a program established under Subchapter L, Chapter 61,
Education Code, for the 2024-2025 academic year. Scholarships and
loan repayment assistance awarded under a program established under
Subchapter L, Chapter 61, Education Code, for an academic year
before the 2024-2025 academic year are governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) The changes in law made by this Act to Subchapter JJ,
Chapter 61, Education Code, apply beginning with loan repayment
assistance awarded under that subchapter for the 2024-2025 academic
year. Loan repayment assistance awarded under Subchapter JJ,
Chapter 61, Education Code, for an academic year before the
2024-2025 academic year is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. 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.