Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By Gutierrez H.B. No. 2527
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment of the Texas Literacy Pilot Program
1-3 to exempt literacy tutors from tuition and fees at public junior
1-4 colleges and public universities.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-7 Subchapter L to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 56.220. PROGRAM NAME. The student financial assistance
1-9 program authorized by this subchapter shall be known as the Texas
1-10 Literacy Pilot Program.
1-11 Sec. 56.221. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
1-12 increase the number of literate citizens in Texas by providing
1-13 exemptions from college tuition and fees to students working as
1-14 volunteer tutors in community-based literacy programs.
1-15 Sec. 56.222. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY. The Texas Higher
1-16 Education Coordinating Board shall administer the Texas Literacy
1-17 Pilot Program. The board shall work with eligible literacy
1-18 programs and institutions of higher education to provide eligible
1-19 students with tuition and fee exemptions based on their work as
1-20 tutors.
1-21 Sec. 56.223. ELIGIBLE LITERACY PROGRAM. An eligible
1-22 literacy program is a program run by a governmental entity or a
1-23 non-profit community organization or agency which offers literacy
1-24 tutoring to teenagers or adults. To participate in the pilot
2-1 program, a literacy program must:
2-2 (a) apply to the coordinating board for acceptance into the
2-3 program using an application form developed and distributed by the
2-4 board;
2-5 (b) keep accurate records of hours worked by participating
2-6 students as tutors;
2-7 (c) notify the coordinating board, upon a student's
2-8 completion of the required number of hours, that the student is
2-9 eligible to receive a tuition and fee exemption;
2-10 (d) provide to the student who complete the required number
2-11 of hours of tutoring a certificate of eligibility; and
2-12 (e) provide annually to the board a report evaluating the
2-13 impact of the pilot program.
2-14 Sec. 56.224. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. (a) To participate in the
2-15 pilot program a student must:
2-16 (1) be evaluated by the participating literacy program
2-17 and determined to be qualified to provide tutoring to teenagers or
2-18 adults; and
2-19 (2) meet the entrance and academic progress
2-20 requirements of the institution of higher education at which the
2-21 exemption is used.
2-22 (b) To be eligible to receive a tuition and fee exemption
2-23 under this program, a student must complete no fewer than the
2-24 number of hours of tutoring required under this subchapter.
2-25 (c) Preference will be given to students currently enrolled
2-26 in college who provide documentation from their institutions that
2-27 they have financial need.
2-28 Sec. 56.225. ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION. An eligible institution
2-29 is a general academic teaching institution or a public junior
2-30 college as defined in Section 61.003 of this code.
3-1 Sec. 56.226. SELECTION OF LITERACY PROGRAMS TO PARTICIPATE.
3-2 In selecting an eligible literacy program to participate in the
3-3 pilot program, the board shall consider the following:
3-4 (a) statistics provided by the literacy program regarding
3-5 the literacy challenges facing its community;
3-6 (b) the literacy program's current and prior year efforts to
3-7 provide literacy training to its community;
3-8 (c) the stated plans of the literacy program to advertise
3-9 the exemption program and attract tutors to participate in the
3-10 pilot program; and
3-11 Sec. 56.227. SIZE OF EXEMPTION AWARDS. A student enrolled
3-12 in a public junior college may receive a $500 exemption of tuition
3-13 and fees upon completion of 50 hours of tutoring. A student
3-14 enrolled in a general academic teaching institution may receive a
3-15 $1,000 exemption of tuition and fees upon completion of 100 hours
3-16 of tutoring. The maximum award any student may receive is a $1,000
3-17 exemption from tuition and fees.
3-18 Sec. 56.228. GRANTING OF EXEMPTIONS. (a) When a student
3-19 has completed the number of hours tutoring required to become
3-20 eligible for a tuition and fee exemption, the literacy program
3-21 shall provide the student with a certificate indicating the number
3-22 of hours of tutoring completed. The certificate shall be on a form
3-23 designated by the coordinating board.
3-24 (b) The literacy program shall report to the coordinating
3-25 board:
3-26 (1) the name of the student; and
3-27 (2) the number of hours of tutoring the student has
3-28 completed.
3-29 (c) An eligible student shall provide the certificate of
3-30 completion to the institution of higher education in which the
4-1 student is enrolled and in exchange shall receive an exemption for
4-2 the amount of tuition and fees for which the student is eligible.
4-3 (d) At least once a year, an eligible institution shall
4-4 report to the coordinating board:
4-5 (1) the name of each student eligible for a tuition
4-6 and fee exemption; and
4-7 (2) the amount of each student's tuition and fee
4-8 exemption.
4-9 (e) Upon receipt of the report from an eligible institution,
4-10 the coordinating board shall verify that the student has been
4-11 reported by the literacy program as having completed the required
4-12 number of hours tutoring.
4-13 (f) Once the coordinating board verifies a student's
4-14 eligibility, the board shall pay the institution the amount of the
4-15 tuition and fee exemptions reported as earned by its students.
4-16 Sec. 56.229. FUNDING. (a) The coordinating board may
4-17 accept gifts and grants from a public or private source for the
4-18 program.
4-19 (b) Gifts, grants, and funds appropriated by the legislature
4-20 for this purpose may be used for the program.
4-21 Sec. 56.230. RULE MAKING AUTHORITY. The coordinating board
4-22 shall adopt rules to implement and administer the literacy pilot
4-23 program.
4-24 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
4-25 (b) No student may be granted a tuition and fee exemption
4-26 prior to the spring semester of 1998.
4-27 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-28 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-29 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-30 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.