1-1 By: Cuellar, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 713
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 1999;
1-3 April 26, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Education; May 3, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable
1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0;
1-6 May 3, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 713 By: Zaffirini
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to student financial aid, including the consolidation or
1-11 repeal of student aid and grant programs and the creation of grant
1-12 programs to provide financial assistance to students at
1-13 institutions of higher education who meet certain academic,
1-14 citizenship, financial need, and other requirements.
1-15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-16 SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-17 Subchapter M to read as follows:
1-18 SUBCHAPTER M. TEXAS HOPE GRANT PROGRAM AND TEACH
1-19 FOR TEXAS GRANT PROGRAM
1-20 Sec. 56.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-21 (1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
1-22 Education Coordinating Board.
1-23 (2) "Eligible institution" means:
1-24 (A) an institution of higher education; or
1-25 (B) a private or independent institution of
1-26 higher education.
1-27 (3) "Private or independent institution of higher
1-28 education," "public junior college," and "public technical
1-29 institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
1-30 Sec. 56.302. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) The student
1-31 financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known
1-32 as the Texas Hope Grant Program, and an individual grant awarded
1-33 under this subchapter is known as a Texas Hope grant.
1-34 (b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
1-35 money to enable qualified students to attend public and private
1-36 institutions of higher education in this state.
1-37 Sec. 56.303. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAMS. (a) The
1-38 coordinating board shall administer the Texas Hope Grant Program
1-39 and the Teach for Texas Grant Program and shall adopt any rules
1-40 necessary to implement the programs or this subchapter.
1-41 (b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
1-42 Texas Hope grant to an eligible student enrolled in an eligible
1-43 institution of higher education in the most efficient manner
1-44 possible.
1-45 (c) The total amount of Texas Hope grants awarded may not
1-46 exceed the amount available for the program from appropriations,
1-47 gifts, grants, or other funds.
1-48 (d) In determining who should receive a Texas Hope grant,
1-49 the coordinating board shall give highest priority to awarding
1-50 grants to students who demonstrate the greatest financial need.
1-51 Sec. 56.304. ELIGIBLE PERSON. (a) To be eligible initially
1-52 for a Texas Hope grant, a person must:
1-53 (1) be a resident of this state as determined by
1-54 coordinating board rules;
1-55 (2) have graduated from a public high school in this
1-56 state not earlier than the 1998-1999 school year and have completed
1-57 the recommended or advanced high school curriculum established
1-58 under Section 28.002 or 28.025;
1-59 (3) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
1-60 coordinating board;
1-61 (4) be from a low or middle income family, as
1-62 determined by the coordinating board;
1-63 (5) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
1-64 certificate program at an eligible institution;
2-1 (6) enroll for at least three-fourths of a full course
2-2 load as an entering freshman in an undergraduate degree or
2-3 certificate program not later than the 16th month after the month
2-4 of the person's graduation from a high school in this state;
2-5 (7) have applied for any available financial aid or
2-6 assistance; and
2-7 (8) comply with any other requirement adopted by the
2-8 coordinating board under this subchapter.
2-9 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a Texas Hope grant
2-10 if the person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.
2-11 (c) A person may not receive a Texas Hope grant for more
2-12 than 150 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
2-13 (d) A person's eligibility for a Texas Hope grant ends on
2-14 the sixth anniversary of the person's initial enrollment in an
2-15 eligible institution.
2-16 (e) A person is not eligible to receive a Texas Hope grant
2-17 if the person has been convicted of a felony, a crime involving
2-18 moral turpitude, or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety
2-19 Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of any
2-20 other jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by
2-21 Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the
2-22 other applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and
2-23 has:
2-24 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
2-25 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
2-26 completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least
2-27 two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion;
2-28 or
2-29 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
2-30 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
2-31 the resulting ineligibility to receive a Texas Hope grant.
2-32 Sec. 56.305. ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After
2-33 initially qualifying for a Texas Hope grant, a person may continue
2-34 to receive a Texas Hope grant during each semester or term in which
2-35 the person is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the
2-36 person:
2-37 (1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
2-38 the coordinating board;
2-39 (2) is enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
2-40 certificate program at an eligible institution;
2-41 (3) is enrolled for at least three-fourths of a full
2-42 course load in the person's undergraduate degree or certificate
2-43 program;
2-44 (4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
2-45 undergraduate degree or certificate; and
2-46 (5) complies with any other requirement adopted by the
2-47 coordinating board.
2-48 (b) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
2-49 Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
2-50 person may not receive a Texas Hope grant under this subchapter
2-51 during the next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A
2-52 person may become eligible to receive a grant in a subsequent
2-53 semester or term if the person:
2-54 (1) completes a semester or term during which the
2-55 student is not eligible for a grant; and
2-56 (2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
2-57 (c) For purposes of this section, a person makes
2-58 satisfactory academic progress toward an undergraduate degree or
2-59 certificate if the person:
2-60 (1) completed at least nine semester credit hours or
2-61 75 percent of a full course load in the person's most recent
2-62 semester or term; and
2-63 (2) has earned an overall grade point average of at
2-64 least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
2-65 previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
2-66 Sec. 56.306. GRANT USE. (a) A person receiving a Texas
2-67 Hope grant may use the money for any usual and customary cost of
2-68 attendance at an institution incurred by the student if the student
2-69 is a first semester college student or the student maintains a 3.0
3-1 grade point average or greater. The institution may disburse all
3-2 or part of the proceeds of a grant to an eligible person only if
3-3 the tuition and required fees incurred by the person at the
3-4 institution have been paid.
3-5 (b) A person receiving a Texas Hope grant must use the money
3-6 for payment of tuition, fees, or textbooks at an institution if the
3-7 student maintains a grade point average of 2.5 or greater but less
3-8 than 3.0.
3-9 Sec. 56.307. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a Texas Hope
3-10 grant for a semester or term for a person enrolled in an eligible
3-11 institution other than an institution covered by Subsection (b),
3-12 (c), or (d) is the amount per semester hour determined by the
3-13 coordinating board as the average statewide amount of tuition and
3-14 required fees per semester hour that a resident student enrolled
3-15 full-time in a baccalaureate degree program would be charged for
3-16 that semester or term at general academic institutions for the
3-17 number of semester hours the person receiving the grant is
3-18 enrolled.
3-19 (b) The amount of a Texas Hope grant for a student enrolled
3-20 at a private or independent institution of higher education is the
3-21 amount determined by the coordinating board as the average
3-22 statewide amount of tuition and required fees per semester hour
3-23 that a resident student enrolled full-time in a baccalaureate
3-24 degree program would be charged for that semester or term at
3-25 general academic institutions for the number of semester hours the
3-26 person receiving the grant is enrolled.
3-27 (c) The amount of a Texas Hope grant for a student enrolled
3-28 at a public technical institute is the amount determined by the
3-29 coordinating board as the average statewide amount of tuition and
3-30 required fees per semester hour that a resident student enrolled
3-31 full-time would be charged for that semester or term at public
3-32 technical institutes for the number of semester hours the person
3-33 receiving the grant is enrolled.
3-34 (d) The amount of a Texas Hope grant for a student enrolled
3-35 at a public junior college is the amount per semester hour
3-36 determined by the coordinating board as the average statewide
3-37 amount of tuition and required fees per semester hour that a
3-38 student who is a resident of the junior college district and is
3-39 enrolled full-time would be charged for that semester or term at
3-40 public junior colleges for the number of semester hours the person
3-41 receiving the grant is enrolled.
3-42 (e) The amount of a Texas Hope grant may not be reduced by
3-43 any gift aid for which the person is eligible, unless the total
3-44 amount of a person's grant plus any gift aid received exceeds the
3-45 total cost of attendance at an eligible institution.
3-46 (f) The coordinating board shall publish, not later than
3-47 January 31 of each year, the amount of a grant per semester hour
3-48 for each type of institution covered by this section for the
3-49 academic year beginning the next fall semester.
3-50 Sec. 56.308. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM TO STUDENTS AND HIGH
3-51 SCHOOLS. (a) The coordinating board shall distribute to each
3-52 eligible institution and to each school district a copy of the
3-53 rules adopted under this subchapter.
3-54 (b) Each school district shall:
3-55 (1) notify its students of the grant program and the
3-56 eligibility requirements of the program; and
3-57 (2) ensure that each student's official transcript or
3-58 diploma indicates whether the student has completed or is on
3-59 schedule to complete the high school curriculum required for grant
3-60 eligibility under Section 56.304(a)(2).
3-61 (c) The information required by Subsection (b)(2) must be
3-62 included on a student's transcript not later than the end of the
3-63 student's junior year.
3-64 Sec. 56.309. TEACH FOR TEXAS GRANT PROGRAM. (a) A Teach
3-65 for Texas tuition grant is available only to a person who receives
3-66 a Texas Hope grant, applies for a grant, and is enrolled as a
3-67 junior or senior in a baccalaureate degree program if:
3-68 (1) the degree program is in a teaching field
3-69 certified by the commissioner of education as experiencing a
4-1 critical shortage of teachers in this state in the year in which
4-2 the person begins the degree program; or
4-3 (2) the person agrees to teach in a public school in
4-4 this state in a community, which is not required to be specifically
4-5 designated at the time the person receives the grant, certified by
4-6 the commissioner of education as experiencing a critical shortage
4-7 of teachers in any year in which the person receives a grant or in
4-8 any subsequent year in which the person fulfills the teaching
4-9 obligation.
4-10 (b) To receive a Teach for Texas tuition grant, a person
4-11 must agree to teach full-time for five years at the preschool,
4-12 primary, or secondary level in a public school in this state in the
4-13 person's chosen critical field or in a community experiencing a
4-14 critical teacher shortage, as applicable.
4-15 (c) The amount of a grant under this section is equal to
4-16 double the amount of a grant authorized under Section 56.307(b) for
4-17 the same semester or term. A person may receive both a Texas Hope
4-18 grant and a grant under this section for the same semester or term.
4-19 (d) The person must begin fulfilling the teaching obligation
4-20 of this section not later than the 18th month after the person
4-21 completes the degree program and any related courses required for
4-22 teacher certification, unless the coordinating board grants the
4-23 person additional time to begin fulfilling the teaching obligation.
4-24 The period within which the person must complete the teaching
4-25 obligation is six years after the date of beginning to fulfill the
4-26 teaching obligation. The coordinating board shall grant a person
4-27 additional time to complete the teaching obligation for good cause.
4-28 (e) The coordinating board shall cancel a person's teaching
4-29 obligation if the board determines that the person:
4-30 (1) has become permanently disabled so that the person
4-31 is not able to teach; or
4-32 (2) has died.
4-33 (f) The coordinating board shall require a person who
4-34 receives a grant under this section to sign a promissory note
4-35 acknowledging the conditional nature of the grant and promising to
4-36 repay the amount of the grant plus applicable interest and
4-37 reasonable collection costs if the person does not satisfy the
4-38 applicable conditions. The board shall determine the terms of the
4-39 promissory note.
4-40 (g) The amount required to be repaid by a person who fails
4-41 to complete the teaching obligation of the person's grant shall be
4-42 determined in proportion to the portion of the teaching obligation
4-43 that the person has satisfied.
4-44 (h) A person receiving a Teach for Texas tuition grant is
4-45 considered to have failed to satisfy the conditions of the grant,
4-46 and the grant automatically becomes a loan, if the person fails to
4-47 remain enrolled in or to make steady progress in the degree program
4-48 for which the grant was made without good cause as determined by
4-49 the coordinating board or the person fails to become certified as a
4-50 teacher within 18 months of receiving a degree.
4-51 Sec. 56.310. FUNDING. (a) The coordinating board may
4-52 accept gifts and grants from any public or private source for the
4-53 purposes of this subchapter.
4-54 (b) The legislature may appropriate money for the purposes
4-55 of this subchapter.
4-56 SECTION 2. Section 54.064, Education Code, is amended by
4-57 amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
4-58 follows:
4-59 (a) A student who holds a competitive academic scholarship
4-60 of at least $1,000 for the academic year or summer for which the
4-61 student is enrolled and who is either a nonresident or a citizen of
4-62 a country other than the United States of America is entitled to
4-63 pay the fees and charges required of Texas residents without regard
4-64 to the length of time the student has resided in Texas. The
4-65 student must compete with other students, including Texas
4-66 residents, for the academic scholarship and the academic
4-67 scholarship must be awarded by a scholarship committee officially
4-68 recognized by the administration and be approved by the Texas
4-69 Higher Education Coordinating Board under criteria developed by the
5-1 board.
5-2 (c) The provisions of Subsection (a) requiring an academic
5-3 scholarship do not apply to student athletes who meet the
5-4 qualifications of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
5-5 U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq.).
5-6 SECTION 3. Subsection (c), Section 54.5021, Education Code,
5-7 is amended to read as follows:
5-8 (c) Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, each
5-9 institution of higher education that has an unobligated and
5-10 unexpended balance in its student deposit fund that exceeds 150
5-11 percent of the total deposits to that fund during that year shall
5-12 remit to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board the amount
5-13 of that excess. The coordinating board shall allocate on an
5-14 equitable basis amounts received under this subsection to
5-15 institutions of higher education that do not have an excess
5-16 described by this subsection for deposit in their student deposit
5-17 fund. The amount allocated under this subsection may be used only
5-18 for making grant [scholarship] awards under Subchapter M, Chapter
5-19 56 [to needy and deserving students under this section].
5-20 SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 56.033, Education Code,
5-21 is amended to read as follows:
5-22 (a) The governing boards of institutions of higher education
5-23 and the Texas State Technical College System shall cause to be set
5-24 aside:
5-25 (1) five [for the 1991-1992 academic year, not less
5-26 than nine percent nor more than 15] percent out of each resident
5-27 student's tuition charge under Section 54.051, except as provided
5-28 by Subdivision (2) [of this code as provided by the General
5-29 Appropriations Act for the applicable academic year];
5-30 (2) 15 percent out of each resident student's tuition
5-31 charge at a medical or dental unit under Section 54.051 [for the
5-32 1992-1993 academic year and each subsequent academic year, not less
5-33 than 15 percent nor more than 20 percent out of each resident
5-34 student's tuition charge under Section 54.051 of this code as
5-35 provided by the General Appropriations Act for the applicable
5-36 academic year; in specifying the percentage to be set aside for the
5-37 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 academic years, the legislature shall
5-38 consider the recommendations of the Select Committee on Higher
5-39 Education established by H.C.R. No. 105, Acts of the 69th
5-40 Legislature, Regular Session, 1985];
5-41 (3) three percent out of each nonresident student's
5-42 tuition charge under Section 54.051 [of this code];
5-43 (4) three [six] percent out of each resident student's
5-44 hourly tuition charge, and $1.50 out of each nonresident student's
5-45 hourly tuition charge, for academic courses at public community and
5-46 junior colleges; and
5-47 (5) three [six] percent of hourly tuition charges for
5-48 vocational-technical courses at public community and junior
5-49 colleges.
5-50 SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
5-51 amended by adding Section 56.0331 to read as follows:
5-52 Sec. 56.0331. INTERIM SET-ASIDE RATES. (a) For the
5-53 academic years listed in Subsections (b) and (c), the amounts of
5-54 tuition set aside under Sections 56.033(a)(1), (4), and (5) are as
5-55 provided by this section instead of as provided by Sections
5-56 56.033(a)(1), (4), and (5).
5-57 (b) The amount set aside under Section 56.033(a)(1) is:
5-58 (1) 1999-2000 academic year--12.5 percent;
5-59 (2) 2000-2001 academic year--10 percent; and
5-60 (3) 2001-2002 academic year--7.5 percent.
5-61 (c) The amount set aside under Sections 56.033(a)(4) and (5)
5-62 is:
5-63 (1) 1999-2000 academic year--5 percent; and
5-64 (2) 2000-2001 academic year--4 percent.
5-65 (d) Subsection (c) does not affect the amount set aside out
5-66 of each nonresident student's hourly tuition charge under Section
5-67 56.033(a)(4).
5-68 (e) This section expires September 1, 2003.
5-69 SECTION 6. Section 56.039, Education Code, is amended to
6-1 read as follows:
6-2 Sec. 56.039. FULL USE OF FUNDS. At the end of a fiscal
6-3 year, if the total amount of unencumbered funds that have been set
6-4 aside under this subchapter by an institution of higher education,
6-5 together with the total amount of unencumbered funds transferred by
6-6 that institution to the Coordinating Board, Texas College and
6-7 University System, exceeds 150 percent of the amount of funds set
6-8 aside by that institution in that fiscal year, the institution
6-9 shall transfer the excess amount to the coordinating board. The
6-10 coordinating board shall use funds transferred under this section
6-11 to award grants under Subchapter M [scholarships as provided by law
6-12 to students at institutions other than the institution that
6-13 transferred the funds].
6-14 SECTION 7. Section 151.423, Tax Code, is amended to read as
6-15 follows:
6-16 Sec. 151.423. REIMBURSEMENT TO TAXPAYER FOR TAX COLLECTIONS.
6-17 A taxpayer may deduct and withhold one-half of one percent of the
6-18 amount of taxes due from the taxpayer on a timely return as
6-19 reimbursement for the cost of collecting the taxes imposed by this
6-20 chapter. The comptroller shall provide a card with each form
6-21 distributed for the collection of taxes under this chapter. The
6-22 card may be inserted by the taxpayer with the tax payment to
6-23 provide for contribution of all or part of the reimbursement
6-24 provided by this section for use as grants [student financial
6-25 assistance grants offered] under Subchapter M, Chapter 56,
6-26 Education Code. If the taxpayer chooses to contribute the
6-27 reimbursement for the grants [student grants], the taxpayer shall
6-28 include the amount of the reimbursement contribution with the tax
6-29 payment. The comptroller shall transfer money contributed under
6-30 this section for grants under Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education
6-31 Code, [student grants] to the appropriate fund.
6-32 SECTION 8. Sections 54.207, 54.208, and 54.216, Education
6-33 Code, are repealed.
6-34 SECTION 9. Subchapters F, G, and J, Chapter 56, Education
6-35 Code, are repealed effective June 1, 1999.
6-36 SECTION 10. Any money appropriated to or collected for a
6-37 program abolished under Section 8 or 9 of this Act or that exists
6-38 in any account to support a program abolished under Section 8 or 9
6-39 of this Act, including the Texas New Horizons Scholarship Trust
6-40 Fund, is transferred to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
6-41 Board for use in the Texas Hope Grant Program and the Teach for
6-42 Texas Grant Program.
6-43 SECTION 11. A person receiving financial aid under
6-44 Subchapter G or J, Chapter 56, Education Code, on the effective
6-45 date of this Act may continue to receive financial aid under those
6-46 subchapters until the person is no longer eligible to receive any
6-47 financial aid under Subchapter G or J, Chapter 56, Education Code,
6-48 as appropriate, as those subchapters exist on January 1, 1999.
6-49 Funding for financial aid under this section shall come from
6-50 funding for the Texas Hope Grant Program and the Teach for Texas
6-51 Grant Program.
6-52 SECTION 12. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
6-53 Board shall award grants under the Texas Hope Grant Program and the
6-54 Teach for Texas Grant Program beginning with the 1999 fall
6-55 semester.
6-56 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
6-57 adopt the rules for awarding grants under the Texas Hope Grant
6-58 Program and the Teach for Texas Grant Program not later than July
6-59 31, 1999.
6-60 (c) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may award
6-61 a grant under the Teach for Texas Grant Program to a person who has
6-62 not received a Texas Hope grant if the person meets all the other
6-63 qualifications for the award of a Teach for Texas tuition grant
6-64 under Section 56.309, Education Code, as added by this Act, and the
6-65 requirements for a Texas Hope grant under Section 56.305, Education
6-66 Code, as added by this Act. This subsection expires September 1,
6-67 2001.
6-68 SECTION 13. (a) Subdivision (2), Subsection (a), Section
6-69 56.304, Education Code, as added by this Act, does not apply to a
7-1 person if the person:
7-2 (1) attended a high school that the State Board of
7-3 Education determines did not offer all the necessary courses of the
7-4 recommended or advanced curriculum; and
7-5 (2) completed all other courses in the recommended or
7-6 advanced curriculum offered by the high school when the person
7-7 attended.
7-8 (b) This section expires September 1, 2001.
7-9 SECTION 14. The importance of this legislation and the
7-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
7-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
7-15 passage, and it is so enacted.
7-16 * * * * *