| 1 | | - | By: West, Blanco, Paxton S.B. No. 2055 |
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| 1 | + | By: West S.B. No. 2055 |
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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2025; March 17, 2025, read |
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| 3 | + | first time and referred to Committee on Education K-16; |
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| 4 | + | April 24, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 10, |
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| 5 | + | Nays 0; April 24, 2025, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 2 | 7 | | |
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| 3 | 8 | | |
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| 4 | 9 | | |
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| 5 | 10 | | |
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| 6 | 11 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 12 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 13 | | relating to participation in the Texas Leadership Scholars Program. |
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| 9 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Section 61.891, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 16 | | adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 17 | | (4) "Eligible institution" means a general academic |
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| 13 | 18 | | teaching institution as defined by Section 61.003. |
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| 14 | 19 | | SECTION 2. Section 61.897, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 15 | 20 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as |
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| 16 | 21 | | follows: |
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| 17 | 22 | | (a) The board, in consultation with general academic |
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| 18 | 23 | | teaching institutions, shall adopt rules for the administration of |
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| 19 | 24 | | the program, including rules providing for the amount and |
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| 20 | 25 | | permissible uses of a scholarship awarded under the program. The |
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| 21 | 26 | | rules must provide that: |
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| 22 | 27 | | (1) the amount of a research scholarship is at least |
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| 23 | 28 | | 150 percent of the amount of a leadership scholarship; [and] |
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| 24 | 29 | | (2) a student may not receive a scholarship under |
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| 25 | 30 | | either the leadership or research scholarship program for more than |
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| 26 | 31 | | four years per student per program; and |
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| 27 | 32 | | (3) each eligible institution receives at least one |
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| 28 | 33 | | research scholarship award with remaining research scholarships |
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| 29 | 34 | | awarded to eligible institutions based, in part, on the number of |
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| 30 | 35 | | research doctoral degrees awarded by each institution. |
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| 31 | 36 | | (a-1) In adopting rules under this subchapter, the board may |
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| 32 | 37 | | not adopt a rule that: |
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| 33 | 38 | | (1) limits the general academic teaching institutions |
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| 34 | 39 | | that may participate in the program; or |
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| 35 | 40 | | (2) gives preference to students enrolled in certain |
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| 36 | 41 | | general academic teaching institutions. |
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| 37 | 42 | | SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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| 38 | 43 | | of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall |
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| 39 | 44 | | adopt rules to implement Section 61.897, Education Code, as |
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| 40 | 45 | | amended by this Act. |
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| 41 | 46 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 42 | 47 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 43 | 48 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 44 | 49 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 45 | 50 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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