Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2654 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4821 JTZ-F
2	2	By: Bhojani H.B. No. 2654
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Grant Program
10	10	for certain students at two-year public institutions of higher
11	11	education.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Subchapter V to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER V. TEXAS PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM
16	16	Sec. 56.651. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
17	17	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
18	18	Education Coordinating Board.
19	19	(2) "Eligible institution" means:
20	20	(A) a public junior college;
21	21	(B) a public technical institute; or
22	22	(C) a public state college.
23	23	(3) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program
24	24	established under this subchapter.
25	25	(4) "Public junior college," "public technical
26	26	institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
27	27	by Section 61.003.
28	28	Sec. 56.652. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
29	29	Promise Grant Program is to provide:
30	30	(1) assistance in the payment of tuition and mandatory
31	31	fees to enable eligible students to attend two-year institutions of
32	32	higher education; and
33	33	(2) an incentive for eligible students to complete an
34	34	associate degree or certificate program at two-year institutions of
35	35	higher education.
36	36	Sec. 56.653. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF GRANT AND
37	37	INCENTIVE BONUS. (a) The coordinating board shall administer the
38	38	program and adopt any rules necessary to implement the program or
39	39	this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult with the
40	40	student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
41	41	developing the rules.
42	42	(b) The coordinating board shall award a grant and incentive
43	43	bonus to each eligible student under the program.
44	44	Sec. 56.654. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
45	45	eligible initially for a grant under the program, a person must:
46	46	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
47	47	coordinating board rules;
48	48	(2) have graduated from high school or received a high
49	49	school equivalency certificate within the last three years;
50	50	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
51	51	program at an eligible institution;
52	52	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
53	53	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
54	54	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
55	55	coordinating board;
56	56	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
57	57	assistance; and
58	58	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic or
59	59	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
60	60	this subchapter.
61	61	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
62	62	program if the person has:
63	63	(1) been granted:
64	64	(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
65	65	program; or
66	66	(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
67	67	(2) completed more than 90 semester credit hours or
68	68	the equivalent at an institution of higher education, excluding
69	69	semester credit hours or the equivalent earned for a dual credit
70	70	course.
71	71	(c) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
72	72	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
73	73	(d) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
74	74	ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
75	75	the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
76	76	institution.
77	77	Sec. 56.655. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
78	78	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
79	79	grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
80	80	under the program during each semester or term in which the person
81	81	is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
82	82	(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
83	83	program at an eligible institution;
84	84	(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
85	85	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
86	86	determined by the coordinating board;
87	87	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
88	88	associate degree or certificate; and
89	89	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
90	90	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
91	91	(b) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
92	92	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
93	93	person may not receive a grant under the program during the next
94	94	semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
95	95	eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
96	96	semester or term if the person:
97	97	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
98	98	student is not eligible for a grant; and
99	99	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
100	100	(c) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
101	101	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
102	102	certificate only if:
103	103	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
104	104	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
105	105	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
106	106	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
107	107	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
108	108	credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
109	109	recent academic year; and
110	110	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
111	111	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
112	112	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
113	113	(d) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
114	114	program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
115	115	person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
116	116	(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
117	117	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under the
118	118	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
119	119	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
120	120	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
121	121	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
122	122	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
123	123	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a grant under
124	124	the program:
125	125	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
126	126	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
127	127	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
128	128	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
129	129	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
130	130	Subsection (c).
131	131	Sec. 56.656. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
132	132	must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
133	133	at an eligible institution.
134	134	Sec. 56.657. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
135	135	awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
136	136	other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
137	137	institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
138	138	(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
139	139	mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
140	140	semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
141	141	state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
142	142	that semester or term; or
143	143	(2) $1,000.
144	144	(b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
145	145	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
146	146	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
147	147	enrolled, the amount of a grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
148	148	student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
149	149	student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
150	150	determined by the coordinating board.
151	151	(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
152	152	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
153	153	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
154	154	the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
155	155	student has been established for purposes of determining the
156	156	appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
157	157	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
158	158	student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
159	159	the student.
160	160	Sec. 56.658. INCENTIVE BONUS. (a) A student receiving a
161	161	grant under the program is eligible to receive an incentive bonus on
162	162	completion of the student's associate degree or certificate program
163	163	at an eligible institution.
164	164	(b) The amount of an incentive bonus awarded under this
165	165	section is $1,000.
166	166	Sec. 56.659. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
167	167	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
168	168	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
169	169	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
170	170	counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant and
171	171	incentive bonus under the program. The coordinating board shall
172	172	distribute to each eligible institution and to each school district
173	173	a copy of the materials prepared under this section.
174	174	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
175	175	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
176	176	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
177	177	requirements of the program.
178	178	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
179	179	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter V, Chapter 56,
180	180	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
181	181	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
182	182	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
183	183	emergency rules.
184	184	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
185	185	begin awarding grants and incentive bonuses under Subchapter V,
186	186	Chapter 56, Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first
187	187	academic year for which money is appropriated for that purpose,
188	188	except that the coordinating board may not award grants or
189	189	incentive bonuses under that subchapter for an academic year before
190	190	the 2026-2027 academic year.
191	191	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
192	192	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
193	193	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
194	194	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
195	195	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.