S.B. No. 532

AN ACT

relating to providing mental health services information to certain higher education students and to the repayment of certain higher education loans.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 51.9194, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 51.9194. REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR ENTERING STUDENTS REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES. (a) In this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003.

(b) An institution of higher education [A general academic teaching institution] shall provide to each entering [full-time] undergraduate, graduate, or professional student, including each [full-time] undergraduate, graduate, or professional student who transfers to the institution, information about:

(1) available mental health and suicide prevention services offered by the institution or by any associated organizations or programs; and

(2) early warning signs that are often present in and appropriate intervention for a person who may be considering suicide.

(c) [(b)] The information required under this section:

(1) may be provided through:

(A) a live presentation; or

(B) a format that allows for student interaction, such as an online program or video; [and]

(2) may not be provided in a paper format only; and

(3) must include a campus map identifying any location at which mental health services are provided to students on campus and information regarding how to access the services.

(d) If an institution of higher education provides a tour during an on-campus orientation for entering students, the tour must identify at least one location described by Subsection (c)(3) that is available for use by all students of the institution.

SECTION 2. Section 61.603, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 61.603. ELIGIBILITY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), to [To] be eligible to receive repayment assistance under this subchapter, a mental health professional must:

(1) apply to the board;

(2) have completed one, two, or three[, four, or five] consecutive years of practice in a mental health professional shortage area designated by the Department of State Health Services; and

(3) provide mental health services in this state to:

(A) recipients under the medical assistance program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code;

(B) enrollees under the child health plan program authorized by Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; or

(C) persons committed to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or persons confined in a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

(b) A mental health professional may also establish eligibility for the repayment assistance under this subchapter by satisfying the requirements of this subsection. To establish eligibility under this subsection, the mental health professional must:

(1) apply to the board;

(2) provide mental health services to:

(A) patients in a state hospital, as defined by Section 552.0011, Health and Safety Code; or

(B) individuals receiving community-based mental health services from a local mental health authority that provides the services in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 534, Health and Safety Code; and

(3) have completed one, two, or three consecutive years of practice in this state as described by Subdivision (2). [In addition to satisfying the requirements under Subsection (a), for a licensed physician to be eligible to receive repayment assistance under this subchapter after the physician's third consecutive year of practice described under Subsection (a)(2), the physician must be certified in psychiatry by:

[(1) the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; or

[(2) the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.]

SECTION 3. Section 61.604(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A mental health professional may receive repayment assistance under this subchapter for not more than three [five] years.

SECTION 4. Section 61.607(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A mental health professional may receive repayment assistance under this subchapter for each year the mental health professional establishes eligibility for the assistance in an amount determined by applying the following applicable percentage to the maximum total amount of assistance allowed for the mental health professional under Subsection (b):

(1) for the first year, 33.33 [10] percent;

(2) for the second year, 33.33 [15] percent; and

(3) for the third year, 33.33 [20] percent[;

[(4) for the fourth year, 25 percent; and

[(5) for the fifth year, 30 percent].

SECTION 5. Section 61.608, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) The board shall administer the program under this subchapter in a manner that, as program openings occur, allows for the continuous:

(1) approval or disapproval of applications;

(2) determination of applicant eligibility; and

(3) acceptance of eligible applicants into the program.

SECTION 6. Section 61.9831, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 61.9831. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for eligible persons who agree to teach mathematics or science for a specified period in public schools [that receive federal funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)].

SECTION 7. Sections 61.9832(a) and (c), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must:

(1) apply annually for the loan repayment assistance in the manner prescribed by the board;

(2) be a United States citizen;

(3) have completed an undergraduate or graduate program in mathematics or science;

(4) have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent;

(5) be:

(A) certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach mathematics or science in a public school in this state; or

(B) teaching under a probationary teaching certificate;

(6) have been employed for at least one year as a teacher teaching mathematics or science at a public school [that receives funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)];

(7) not be in default on any other education loan;

(8) not receive any other state or federal loan repayment assistance, including a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant or teacher loan forgiveness;

(9) enter into an agreement with the board under Subsection (c); and

(10) comply with any other requirement adopted by the board under this subchapter.

(c) To receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must enter into an agreement with the board that includes the following provisions:

(1) the person will accept an offer of full-time employment to teach mathematics or science, as applicable based on the person's certification, in a public school [that receives funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)];

(2) the person will complete four consecutive years of employment in any public school as a full-time classroom teacher [in a school described by Subdivision (1)] whose primary duty is to teach mathematics or science, as applicable, based on the person's certification;

(3) beginning with the school year immediately following the last of the four consecutive school years described by Subdivision (2), the person will complete an additional number of consecutive school years teaching in any public school in this state, as prescribed by board rule; and

(4) the person acknowledges the conditional nature of the loan repayment assistance.

SECTION 8. Section 61.9839(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Subject to Sections 61.9833(b) and 61.9838(c), an [An] eligible person may continue to receive the same amount of loan repayment assistance received during the first four consecutive years of teaching service required under Section 61.9832(c)(2) if the person continues to teach in a public school in accordance with board rules for the prescribed number of consecutive school years occurring immediately after those [that receives funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.), after the] first four years [of teaching service required under Section 61.9832(c)(2)].

SECTION 9. Section 61.9839(b), Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 10. Section 51.9194, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies beginning with entering students at public institutions of higher education for the 2023 fall semester.

SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 61.603, 61.604(a), and 61.607(a), Education Code, apply only to a person who first establishes eligibility for loan repayment assistance under Subchapter K, Chapter 61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, on the basis of an application submitted on or after September 1, 2023. A person who first establishes eligibility on the basis of an application submitted before September 1, 2023, is governed by the law in effect at the time the application was submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 12. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules necessary to administer Sections 61.9831, 61.9832, and 61.9839, Education Code, as amended by this Act.

(b) Sections 61.9831, 61.9832, and 61.9839, Education Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a loan repayment assistance agreement entered into under Subchapter KK, Chapter 61, Education Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A loan repayment assistance agreement entered into before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 532 passed the Senate on April 25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3; and that the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 532 passed the House, with amendments, on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 97, Nays 41, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

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Governor