By Maxey H.B. No. 1697
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to providing information to students applying for
1-3 guaranteed student loans relating to the graduation, placement, and
1-4 student loan default rates for certain postsecondary educational
1-5 institutions.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
1-8 amended by adding Section 61.0735 to read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 61.0735. NOTICE RELATING TO GUARANTEED STUDENT LOANS.
1-10 (a) In this section:
1-11 (1) "Guaranteed student loan" means a loan guaranteed
1-12 under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1001 et
1-13 seq.) or other federal law the purpose of which is to provide money
1-14 for a person to attend a postsecondary educational institution.
1-15 (2) "Postsecondary educational institution" has the
1-16 meaning assigned by Section 57.02.
1-17 (b) The board shall collect and maintain information
1-18 relating to guaranteed student loans for each postsecondary
1-19 educational institution in this state that does not grant
1-20 baccalaureate or postgraduate degrees and is eligible to enroll a
1-21 student receiving a guaranteed student loan. The information
1-22 collected by the board must include, to the extent practicable:
1-23 (1) the graduation rate for students enrolled in the
1-24 institution;
2-1 (2) the career placement rate for students graduating
2-2 from the institution; and
2-3 (3) the guaranteed student loan default rate of
2-4 students who have received guaranteed student loans to attend the
2-5 institution.
2-6 (c) The board shall prepare materials for distribution to a
2-7 student applying for a guaranteed student loan to attend an
2-8 institution to which this section applies designed to inform the
2-9 student of the graduation, placement, and loan default rates for
2-10 the institution collected under Subsection (b). The board may
2-11 provide the information in any form the board considers reasonable
2-12 and may provide rates for the institution as a whole or for
2-13 particular programs of the institution.
2-14 (d) The board by rule shall require:
2-15 (1) postsecondary educational institutions covered by
2-16 this section and entities administering guaranteed student loans in
2-17 this state to report information that the board requires for the
2-18 administration of this section; and
2-19 (2) each entity that administers guaranteed student
2-20 loans in this state to provide each applicant for a guaranteed
2-21 student loan to attend an institution to which this section applies
2-22 with the materials prepared by the board under Subsection (c).
2-23 (e) The board shall include in the materials distributed
2-24 under Subsection (c) information warning the student of the
2-25 possible consequences of defaulting on repayment of the student
2-26 loan. The board shall prescribe the form and content of the
2-27 warning. The warning must include information relating to the
3-1 following items, with any additions or changes prescribed by the
3-2 board to ensure that the information is clear and accurate:
3-3 (1) that the student may be sued for the entire unpaid
3-4 amount of the delinquent loan, including interest;
3-5 (2) that the student may become liable for costs
3-6 associated with collecting the delinquent loan, including
3-7 attorney's fees and court costs;
3-8 (3) that the wages or salary of the student may be
3-9 subject to withholding to enforce repayment of the delinquent loan
3-10 and to recover related collection costs;
3-11 (4) that the student may become ineligible to receive
3-12 guaranteed student loans or other student financial aid until the
3-13 student has made satisfactory arrangements for repayment of the
3-14 delinquent loan;
3-15 (5) that the student may become ineligible for
3-16 assistance under most federal benefits programs;
3-17 (6) that the student may become ineligible for future
3-18 student deferments of the loan or for federal interest benefits
3-19 when enrolled in a college or university after default; and
3-20 (7) that the student may become ineligible to obtain
3-21 or renew a professional or occupational license.
3-22 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-23 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
3-24 prepare materials for distribution to students applying for
3-25 guaranteed student loans as required by Section 61.0735, Education
3-26 Code, as added by this Act, not later than September 1, 1996.
3-27 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.