By Sibley, et al.                                S.B. No. 576

      75R5272 CAG-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the establishment of the Texas new horizons scholarship

 1-3     fund to exempt worthy  high school graduates from tuition and fees

 1-4     at public institutions of higher education.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is

 1-7     amended by adding Section 54.216 to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 54.216.  TEXAS NEW HORIZONS SCHOLARSHIP FUND.  (a)  The

 1-9     Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall issue scholarships,

1-10     in a number to be determined by the coordinating board after

1-11     reviewing the total amount of money available to the Texas new

1-12     horizons scholarship fund, to qualified high school graduates.  A

1-13     scholarship may be used by the recipient to attend any institution

1-14     of higher education and exempts the recipient from the payment of

1-15     tuition and required fees during the recipient's undergraduate

1-16     enrollment at the institution.

1-17           (b)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary

1-18     for the administration of this section, including rules relating to

1-19     the establishment of the scholarships, the criteria for awarding a

1-20     scholarship, and the determination of eligibility.

1-21           (c)  The criteria for awarding a scholarship must be based on

1-22     the following factors:

1-23                 (1)  the socioeconomic background of the student,

1-24     including the percentage by which the student's family is below any

 2-1     recognized measure of poverty;

 2-2                 (2)  whether the student's parents have received

 2-3     baccalaureate degrees;

 2-4                 (3)  whether the wealth per student of the school

 2-5     district the student attended was below the average wealth per

 2-6     student of school districts as determined in Chapter 41;

 2-7                 (4)  whether the student has demonstrated

 2-8     responsibility in the student's work in school, with the student's

 2-9     family, and within the student's community, including whether the

2-10     student has been employed while in high school or whether the

2-11     student has performed substantial child-care duties or has helped

2-12     to raise children;

2-13                 (5)  whether the student is a resident of an urban area

2-14     or a rural area for which recognized socioeconomic indicators are

2-15     lower than is average for similar areas;

2-16                 (6)  the student's performance on standardized tests;

2-17     and

2-18                 (7)  the student's performance on standardized tests in

2-19     comparison with that of other students from similar socioeconomic

2-20     backgrounds.

2-21           (d)  Not later than one year before the date applications for

2-22     scholarships are first considered under this section for each

2-23     academic year, the coordinating board shall publish the criteria

2-24     and a description of the weight given to each factor and the role

2-25     each factor plays in the decision to award scholarships that year.

2-26           (e)  The coordinating board shall award the scholarships from

2-27     the amount available in the Texas new horizons scholarship fund.

 3-1     The fund consists of amounts appropriated to the fund, including

 3-2     gifts or grants to the fund.  The coordinating board may accept

 3-3     gifts, grants, or donations from any person for the purposes of

 3-4     this section.

 3-5           SECTION 2.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this

 3-6     section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-7           (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall

 3-8     adopt the criteria for awarding scholarships under Section 54.216,

 3-9     Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than December 1,

3-10     1997.  The board shall use those criteria in awarding any

3-11     scholarships awarded before September 1, 1998.

3-12           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-13     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.