| 1 | 1 | | 89R12046 RDR-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: West S.B. No. 2995 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the displacement of student financial aid at a public |
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| 10 | 10 | | institution of higher education. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Education Code, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Section 56.0094 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 56.0094. FINANCIAL AID DISPLACEMENT. (a) In this |
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| 15 | 15 | | section: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher |
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| 17 | 17 | | Education Coordinating Board. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) "Gift aid" means a grant, scholarship, exemption, |
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| 19 | 19 | | waiver, or other financial aid awarded to a student without a |
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| 20 | 20 | | requirement to repay the aid or earn the aid through work. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (b) The coordinating board shall develop a financial aid |
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| 22 | 22 | | displacement advisory for use by institutions of higher education |
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| 23 | 23 | | under this section that contains: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) a statement bordered by a line one point in weight |
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| 25 | 25 | | in a font not less than 14 points in size in the following form: |
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| 26 | 26 | | "Financial aid displacement occurs when a student's |
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| 27 | 27 | | financial aid is reduced because of the receipt of a private |
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| 28 | 28 | | scholarship or for other reasons identified below. This practice |
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| 29 | 29 | | occurs in Texas, and the institution of higher education in which |
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| 30 | 30 | | you are enrolling is required, not later than the 30th day after |
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| 31 | 31 | | reducing your financial aid, to provide you notice of the financial |
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| 32 | 32 | | aid that has been reduced, the amount by which that aid has been |
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| 33 | 33 | | reduced, and why that aid has been reduced."; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) a list of the reasons for which the amount of gift |
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| 35 | 35 | | aid a student is awarded might be revised or reduced under this |
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| 36 | 36 | | chapter. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (c) An institution of higher education shall send the |
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| 38 | 38 | | financial aid displacement advisory developed under Subsection (b) |
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| 39 | 39 | | to a student not later than the seventh day after the date on which |
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| 40 | 40 | | the student is admitted to the institution. The advisory may be |
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| 41 | 41 | | sent by text message, e-mail, or mail. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (d) Not earlier than the 30th day before or later than the |
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| 43 | 43 | | 30th day after an institution of higher education revises or |
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| 44 | 44 | | reduces the amount of gift aid a student will receive under this |
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| 45 | 45 | | chapter for a school year, the institution shall send to the student |
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| 46 | 46 | | a financial aid reduction notice identifying: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) the gift aid that will be or has been revised or |
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| 48 | 48 | | reduced; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) the amount by which the gift aid will be or has |
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| 50 | 50 | | been revised or reduced; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | (3) the reason the gift aid will be or has been revised |
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| 52 | 52 | | or reduced. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (e) An institution of higher education shall annually |
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| 54 | 54 | | report to the coordinating board in a manner provided by |
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| 55 | 55 | | coordinating board rule a report on the revision or reduction of |
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| 56 | 56 | | gift aid at the institution under this chapter during the preceding |
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| 57 | 57 | | academic year. The report must include the following information, |
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| 58 | 58 | | disaggregated by race and sex: |
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| 59 | 59 | | (1) the number of students whose gift aid was revised |
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| 60 | 60 | | or reduced; |
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| 61 | 61 | | (2) the average amount by which the gift aid was |
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| 62 | 62 | | revised or reduced; and |
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| 63 | 63 | | (3) the reasons the gift aid was revised or reduced. |
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| 64 | 64 | | (f) The coordinating board shall annually submit to the |
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| 65 | 65 | | legislature and post on the coordinating board's Internet website a |
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| 66 | 66 | | report on the revision or reduction of gift aid under this chapter |
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| 67 | 67 | | during the preceding academic year. The report must include the |
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| 68 | 68 | | following information, disaggregated by race and sex: |
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| 69 | 69 | | (1) the total number of students whose gift aid was |
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| 70 | 70 | | revised or reduced; |
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| 71 | 71 | | (2) the average amount by which the gift aid was |
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| 72 | 72 | | revised or reduced; and |
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| 73 | 73 | | (3) the three most common reasons the gift aid was |
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| 74 | 74 | | revised or reduced. |
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| 75 | 75 | | (g) The coordinating board shall adopt rules necessary to |
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| 76 | 76 | | implement this section. |
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| 77 | 77 | | SECTION 2. Section 56.0094, Education Code, as added by |
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| 78 | 78 | | this Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year. |
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| 79 | 79 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 80 | 80 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 81 | 81 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 82 | 82 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 83 | 83 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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