89R3003 MM-F
By: Menéndez S.B. No. 186
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with
Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain students at public
institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter U to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 56.541. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Program" means the Texas Students with
Disabilities Scholarship Program established under this
subchapter.
Sec. 56.542. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program is to provide
assistance in the payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable
eligible students to attend institutions of higher education.
Sec. 56.543. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF
SCHOLARSHIP. (a) The coordinating board shall administer the
program and adopt any rules necessary to implement the program or
this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult with the
student financial aid officers of institutions of higher education
and a representative from at least one of the University Centers for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in this state in
developing the rules.
(b) The coordinating board shall award a scholarship to each
eligible student under the program, as provided by Section 56.547.
(c) The coordinating board by rule shall develop a
disability affidavit form that may be used to establish that a
student has a disability for purposes of Section 56.544(a)(6) based
on a diagnosis by a licensed physician or other documentation
determined appropriate by the coordinating board. In developing
the disability affidavit form in a manner that ensures the form
properly verifies that a person has a disability, the coordinating
board shall consult with:
(1) at least one University Centers for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities program in this state; or
(2) a statewide, cross-disability advocacy
organization.
(d) The coordinating board may use any available revenue,
including legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept
gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for
the purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 56.544. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) be enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
education;
(3) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
one-quarter of a full course load for an entering student in the
associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
determined by the coordinating board;
(4) have applied for any available financial aid or
assistance;
(5) comply with any additional nonacademic or
nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
this subchapter; and
(6) establish that the person has a disability by:
(A) providing proof that the person:
(i) is a person with a disability as defined
by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102;
(ii) receives Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq. on the basis of
disability or blindness;
(iii) receives Social Security Disability
Insurance (SSDI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; or
(iv) qualifies for or is receiving
vocational rehabilitation services provided through the Texas
Workforce Commission; or
(B) if the student is unable to provide proof in
accordance with Paragraph (A), completing a disability affidavit
form developed in accordance with Section 56.543(c).
(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
Substances Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving
a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
requirements under the program and has:
(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
program.
(c) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
the program if the person has completed more than the following
number of semester credit hours or the equivalent at an institution
of higher education, excluding semester credit hours or the
equivalent earned for a dual credit course:
(1) 90 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the
person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years
or less; or
(2) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if
the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more
than two years.
(d) A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
for more than:
(1) 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the
person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years
or less; or
(2) 150 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if
the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more
than two years.
(e) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
program ends on:
(1) the fourth anniversary of the initial award of a
scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years or less;
(2) the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a
scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more than two years
but not more than four years; or
(3) the eighth anniversary of the initial award of a
scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more than four years.
Sec. 56.545. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
the person is enrolled at an institution of higher education only if
the person:
(1) is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
education;
(2) is enrolled for at least one-quarter of a full
course load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree or
certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;
(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate; and
(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
(Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
program.
(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 the program during the
next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
subsequent semester or term if the person:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
person 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 an associate or
baccalaureate degree or certificate only if:
(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
institution at which the person is enrolled; and
(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person
completes at least 25 percent of the semester credit hours or the
equivalent attempted in the person's most recent academic year.
(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
if the person enrolls in or transfers to another institution of
higher education.
(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
program, 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 a
showing 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 the program:
(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
(2) if the person's completion rate falls below the
satisfactory academic progress requirements of Subsection (d).
Sec. 56.546. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
the program must be applied first to the payment of tuition and
mandatory fees at an institution of higher education.
Sec. 56.547. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
scholarship awarded to an eligible student under the program for a
semester or other academic term in which the student is enrolled at
an institution of higher education is an amount determined by the
coordinating board under Subsection (b) based on the amount of
funds available for distribution and the number of eligible
applicants.
(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules and procedures
for determining the amount of the scholarship for each academic
year or during an academic year as necessary to respond to
fluctuations in the amount of funds available for distribution.
(c) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
enrolled, the amount of a scholarship award to a student who is
enrolled in less than a full course load for a student in an
associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
determined by the coordinating board.
(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
awarded to the student.
Sec. 56.548. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
with all institutions of higher education, shall prepare materials
designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
school counselors about the program and eligibility for a
scholarship under the program. The coordinating board shall
distribute to each institution of higher education and to each
school district a copy of the materials prepared under this
section.
(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
requirements of the program.
SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
the effective date of this Act.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
for an academic year before the 2026-2027 academic year.
SECTION 3. 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, 2025.