AN ACT
1-1 relating to the establishment of the Texas New Horizons Scholarship
1-2 Trust Fund to exempt worthy high school graduates from tuition and
1-3 fees at public institutions of higher education.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 54.216 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 54.216. TEXAS NEW HORIZONS SCHOLARSHIPS. (a) The
1-8 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall issue scholarships,
1-9 in a number to be determined by the coordinating board after
1-10 reviewing the total amount of money available to the Texas New
1-11 Horizons Scholarship Trust Fund, to qualified students. A
1-12 scholarship may be used by the recipient to attend an eligible
1-13 public institution of higher education. The purpose of the
1-14 scholarship is to pay for the recipient's tuition and required
1-15 fees.
1-16 (b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary
1-17 for the administration of this section, including rules relating to
1-18 the establishment of the scholarships, the criteria for awarding a
1-19 scholarship, the determination of eligibility, and the total
1-20 scholarship amount that an eligible student may receive.
1-21 (c) To be eligible for a scholarship under this section, a
1-22 person must:
1-23 (1) be a Texas resident, as defined by coordinating
2-1 board rules;
2-2 (2) be enrolled as an undergraduate student at an
2-3 eligible institution for at least one-half of a full course load;
2-4 (3) meet minimum academic standards;
2-5 (4) establish financial need;
2-6 (5) satisfy one or more of the eligibility
2-7 requirements listed in Subsection (d); and
2-8 (6) comply with any other requirements adopted by the
2-9 coordinating board under this section.
2-10 (d) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (c),
2-11 eligibility for a scholarship shall be based on the following
2-12 factors:
2-13 (1) the socioeconomic background of the student,
2-14 including the percentage by which the student's family is above or
2-15 below any recognized measure of poverty, the student's household
2-16 income, and the educational level of the student's parents;
2-17 (2) whether the student would be the first generation
2-18 of the student's family to attend or graduate from an institution
2-19 of higher education;
2-20 (3) whether the wealth per student of the school
2-21 district the student attended was below the average wealth per
2-22 student of school districts as determined in Chapter 41;
2-23 (4) whether the student has demonstrated
2-24 responsibility in the student's work in school, with the student's
2-25 family, and within the student's community, including whether the
3-1 student has been employed while in high school or whether the
3-2 student has performed substantial child-care duties or has helped
3-3 to raise children;
3-4 (5) whether the student is a resident of an urban area
3-5 or a rural area or a resident of a central city or a suburban area
3-6 in the state;
3-7 (6) the student's performance on standardized tests;
3-8 and
3-9 (7) the student's performance on standardized tests in
3-10 comparison with that of other students from similar socioeconomic
3-11 backgrounds.
3-12 (e) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
3-13 this section if the person:
3-14 (1) has been granted a baccalaureate degree; or
3-15 (2) has received an athletic scholarship.
3-16 (f) To be eligible to participate in the scholarship
3-17 program, an eligible institution must match any state funds with
3-18 the institution's local funds or institutional funds.
3-19 (g) Before the date applications for scholarships are first
3-20 considered under this section, the coordinating board shall
3-21 distribute to each eligible institution the eligibility criteria
3-22 and a description of the weight given to each factor and the role
3-23 each factor plays in the decision to award scholarships.
3-24 (h) The coordinating board shall award the scholarships from
3-25 the amount available in the Texas New Horizons Scholarship Trust
4-1 Fund. The trust fund is established outside the treasury but is
4-2 held in trust by the comptroller. Money in the trust fund may be
4-3 spent without appropriation and only to fund the program. Interest
4-4 and income from the assets of the trust fund shall be credited to
4-5 and deposited in the trust fund. In each state fiscal year the
4-6 coordinating board may spend from the trust fund to cover the costs
4-7 of administering this section an amount not to exceed 2.5 percent
4-8 of the total amount of money deposited into the trust fund in that
4-9 fiscal year, excluding matching funds transferred to the trust fund
4-10 under Subsection (f).
4-11 (i) Each eligible institution shall transfer local funds
4-12 provided by the institution under Subsection (f) to the Texas New
4-13 Horizons Scholarship Trust Fund. The coordinating board shall use
4-14 the funds transferred by an institution to provide scholarships to
4-15 students attending that institution.
4-16 (j) The coordinating board may accept gifts and grants from
4-17 any public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter
4-18 and may deposit a gift or grant to the credit of the trust fund.
4-19 (k) The legislature may appropriate money to the trust fund.
4-20 SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
4-21 section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
4-22 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
4-23 adopt the rules for awarding scholarships under Section 54.216,
4-24 Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than December 1,
4-25 1997.
5-1 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
5-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 576 passed the Senate on
April 16, 1997, by a viva-voce vote; and that the Senate concurred
in House amendments on May 30, 1997, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 576 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 28, 1997, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
_______________________________
Date
_______________________________
Governor