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House Bill 518 |
House Author: Kolkhorst et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Van de Putte |
House Bill 518 amends the Education Code to establish student loan repayment assistance programs for certain correctional officers, speech-language pathologists and audiologists, and mathematics and science teachers and specifies eligibility criteria, the amount of assistance available to individuals, and funding sources for the programs. It requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish the Correctional Officer Loan Repayment Assistance Pilot Program to provide, through a trust fund created for the purpose, assistance for eligible correctional officers in the repayment of student loans related to junior‑level and senior-level baccalaureate course work at Sam Houston State University or, if the pilot program is expanded, another academic institution approved by the board. It requires the board to provide, through repayment assistance grants, assistance in the repayment of student loans for eligible speech-language pathologists and audiologists employed by a public school or a communicative disorders program at an institution of higher education. The bill establishes the Texas Teach Corps Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program to be administered by the board to provide assistance in the repayment of student loans for eligible undergraduate students who agree to teach mathematics or science for a specified period in school districts determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages of such teachers, and creates the mathematics and science teacher investment fund to facilitate that purpose.
Reason Given for Veto: "House Bill No. 518 would provide student loan repayment assistance for certain correctional officers, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and math and science teachers.
"The state currently funds 18 financial aid programs, four of which are major programs and the other 14 of which target smaller groups of students. Rather than creating new programs, the state should focus on fully funding the four main programs to make financial aid available to more students. The 2010–2011 state budget includes significant increases in funding for these key financial aid programs, which will provide assistance to more students than ever before. It is also more cost effective for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the institutions of higher education to administer a few large programs rather than many small programs.
"Additionally, the state already provides loan repayment assistance for math and science teachers through the Teach for Texas Loan Repayment Assistance Program, so another program for math and science teachers is duplicative."