By Longoria H.B. No. 1329 76R1657 JSA-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to providing scholarships to students at institutions of 1-3 higher education who meet certain academic requirements or agree to 1-4 teach in a field with a critical teacher shortage. 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 M to read as follows: 1-8 SUBCHAPTER M. TEXAS HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 1-9 Sec. 56.301. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "coordinating 1-10 board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. 1-11 Sec. 56.302. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) The student 1-12 financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known 1-13 as the Texas Hope Scholarship Program, and an individual grant 1-14 awarded under this subchapter is known as a hope scholarship. 1-15 (b) The purpose of the program is to provide a grant of 1-16 money for tuition and required fees to enable a qualified person to 1-17 attend a public or private institution of higher education if the 1-18 person maintains excellent academic performance or agrees to teach 1-19 in a public preschool, primary, or secondary school in this state 1-20 in a teaching field with a critical shortage of teachers. 1-21 Sec. 56.303. TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS. There are two types of 1-22 hope scholarships, the hope scholarship for academic excellence and 1-23 the hope teacher scholarship. 1-24 Sec. 56.304. ELIGIBLE PERSON. (a) To be eligible for a 2-1 hope scholarship, a person must: 2-2 (1) be a Texas resident as defined by coordinating 2-3 board rules; 2-4 (2) enroll as a full-time or part-time student in an 2-5 institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003 or 2-6 approved under 61.222; 2-7 (3) be from a low-income or middle-income family and 2-8 establish financial need as defined by coordinating board rules; 2-9 (4) have: 2-10 (A) graduated from a secondary school with a 2-11 cumulative grade average that is equal to or greater than the 2-12 equivalent of 85 on a scale of 100; or 2-13 (B) completed a program of instruction at the 2-14 secondary school level in a home-school setting or received 2-15 credentials equivalent to a high school degree, and have completed 2-16 at least 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent at an 2-17 institution of higher education described by Subsection (a)(2) with 2-18 a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 or the equivalent; 2-19 (5) meet any reasonable attendance and disciplinary 2-20 standards established by the coordinating board; 2-21 (6) meet the applicable requirements of Section 56.305 2-22 or 56.306; 2-23 (7) have applied for any available financial 2-24 assistance; and 2-25 (8) have complied with any other administrative 2-26 requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this 2-27 subchapter. 3-1 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a hope scholarship 3-2 while enrolled in an undergraduate program if the person has been 3-3 granted a baccalaureate degree. 3-4 (c) A person is not eligible to receive a hope scholarship 3-5 if the person has been convicted of a felony, a crime involving 3-6 moral turpitude, or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety 3-7 Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of any 3-8 other jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by 3-9 Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the 3-10 other applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and 3-11 has: 3-12 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas 3-13 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or 3-14 completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least 3-15 two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; 3-16 or 3-17 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense 3-18 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from 3-19 the resulting ineligibility to receive a hope scholarship. 3-20 Sec. 56.305. REQUIREMENTS FOR HOPE SCHOLARSHIP FOR ACADEMIC 3-21 EXCELLENCE. (a) A hope scholarship for academic excellence is 3-22 available only to a person enrolled in an undergraduate degree or 3-23 certificate program. A person may not receive a hope scholarship 3-24 for academic excellence for more than 140 semester hours or the 3-25 equivalent, except that a student enrolled in a baccalaureate 3-26 degree program requiring more than 130 semester credit hours or the 3-27 equivalent may receive a scholarship for a total number of semester 4-1 credit hours equal to 10 more than the number required for the 4-2 degree program. 4-3 (b) To receive a hope scholarship for academic excellence, a 4-4 person who has completed fewer than 15 semester credit hours or the 4-5 equivalent at any institution or institutions of higher education 4-6 must be eligible for a hope scholarship under Section 56.304 and 4-7 must specifically meet the requirement of Section 56.304(a)(4). 4-8 (c) To receive a hope scholarship for academic excellence, a 4-9 person other than a person described by Subsection (b) must: 4-10 (1) have completed at least 15 semester credit hours 4-11 or the equivalent at an institution or institutions of higher 4-12 education described by Section 56.304(a)(2) with a cumulative grade 4-13 point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the 4-14 equivalent; and 4-15 (2) maintain satisfactory progress in the person's 4-16 degree or certification program as determined by the coordinating 4-17 board. 4-18 Sec. 56.306. REQUIREMENTS FOR HOPE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP. 4-19 (a) A hope teacher scholarship is available only to a person who: 4-20 (1) has completed at least 60 semester credit hours or 4-21 the equivalent at an institution or institutions of higher 4-22 education described by Section 56.304(a)(2); 4-23 (2) is enrolled in a baccalaureate or master's degree 4-24 program in a teaching field certified by the coordinating board as 4-25 experiencing a critical shortage of teachers in this state; and 4-26 (3) has been accepted into a teacher certification 4-27 program approved by the coordinating board. 5-1 (b) A person may not receive hope teacher scholarships for 5-2 more than four semesters or summer sessions of at least nine weeks. 5-3 (c) To receive a hope teacher scholarship, a person must 5-4 agree to teach full-time at the preschool, primary, or secondary 5-5 level in a public school in this state in the person's chosen 5-6 critical field for one academic year for each $2,500 the person 5-7 receives in hope teacher scholarships. 5-8 (d) The person must fulfill the teaching obligation of this 5-9 section within the applicable period specified by this subsection 5-10 after the person completes the degree program and any related 5-11 courses required for teacher certification, unless the coordinating 5-12 board grants the person additional time to complete the teaching 5-13 obligation. The period within which the person must complete the 5-14 teaching obligation is a number of years equal to the number of 5-15 academic years that the person is required to teach, plus one 5-16 additional year. The coordinating board shall grant a person 5-17 additional time to complete the teaching obligation equal to a 5-18 period during which the person demonstrates to the board that the 5-19 person is: 5-20 (1) enrolled full-time in a degree or certificate 5-21 program at a public or private institution of higher education in 5-22 or outside of this state; 5-23 (2) serving on active duty as a member of the armed 5-24 services of the United States; 5-25 (3) temporarily disabled so that the person is unable 5-26 to teach; 5-27 (4) temporarily unable to secure employment to satisfy 6-1 the teaching obligation because the person is responsible for the 6-2 care of: 6-3 (A) a child under 12 years of age; or 6-4 (B) the person's disabled spouse or parent; 6-5 (5) seeking and unable to secure employment to satisfy 6-6 the teaching obligation for a single period not to exceed 12 6-7 months; or 6-8 (6) subject to any other hardship or special 6-9 circumstances the board determines to be just cause to provide the 6-10 person with additional time to satisfy the teaching obligation. 6-11 (e) The coordinating board shall cancel a person's teaching 6-12 obligation if the board determines that the person: 6-13 (1) has become permanently disabled so that the person 6-14 is not able to teach; or 6-15 (2) has died. 6-16 Sec. 56.307. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY. The coordinating 6-17 board shall provide a hope scholarship to each eligible person 6-18 enrolled in an eligible institution of higher education. The total 6-19 amount of hope scholarships awarded by the board may not exceed the 6-20 amount available in the Texas hope scholarship trust fund. If 6-21 there are insufficient funds available to provide a scholarship to 6-22 each eligible person, the board shall award the available 6-23 scholarships to the eligible persons with the greatest financial 6-24 need. 6-25 Sec. 56.308. PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP. (a) On receipt of a 6-26 person's hope scholarship application, an enrollment report from 6-27 the institution of higher education enrolling the person providing 7-1 the coordinating board with the information the board requires to 7-2 determine the person's eligibility, and a certification of the 7-3 amount of financial need from the institution of higher education, 7-4 the board shall determine whether the person is eligible for a 7-5 scholarship and, if the person is selected to receive a 7-6 scholarship, shall distribute the amount of the scholarship for the 7-7 person to the institution of higher education or directly to the 7-8 person as determined by the board. 7-9 (b) The amount of a hope scholarship is $1,500 for each 7-10 semester or summer session of at least nine weeks. 7-11 Sec. 56.309. HOPE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP CONDITIONAL; 7-12 REPAYMENT. (a) A hope teacher scholarship is conditioned on the 7-13 person's performance of the applicable teaching requirements of 7-14 Section 56.306. The scholarship is considered a loan until the 7-15 conditions of the scholarship are met. 7-16 (b) The coordinating board shall require a person who 7-17 receives a hope teacher scholarship to sign a promissory note 7-18 acknowledging the conditional nature of the scholarship and 7-19 promising to repay the amount of the scholarship plus applicable 7-20 interest and reasonable collection costs if the person does not 7-21 satisfy the applicable conditions. The board shall determine the 7-22 terms of the promissory note. To the extent practicable, the terms 7-23 must be the same as those applicable to state or federally 7-24 guaranteed student loans made at the same time. All amounts 7-25 collected in repayment of a scholarship, including interest, but 7-26 excluding collection costs paid by the board to another person to 7-27 collect or assist in collecting the amount, shall be deposited to 8-1 the credit of the Texas hope scholarship trust fund. 8-2 (c) The amount required to be repaid by a person who fails 8-3 to complete the teaching obligations of the person's scholarship 8-4 shall be determined in proportion to the portion of the teaching 8-5 obligation that the person has satisfied. 8-6 (d) A person receiving a hope teacher scholarship is 8-7 considered to have failed to satisfy the conditions of the 8-8 scholarship, and the scholarship automatically becomes a loan, if 8-9 the person fails to remain enrolled in or to make steady progress 8-10 in the degree program or teacher certification program for which 8-11 the scholarship was awarded without good cause as determined by the 8-12 coordinating board. 8-13 Sec. 56.310. ADOPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RULES. (a) The 8-14 coordinating board shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter. 8-15 (b) The coordinating board shall distribute to each 8-16 institution of higher education and to each school district copies 8-17 of all rules adopted under this subchapter. 8-18 Sec. 56.311. FUNDING. (a) The Texas Hope Scholarship 8-19 Program is funded from the Texas hope scholarship trust fund. The 8-20 trust fund is established outside the treasury but is held in trust 8-21 by the comptroller. Money in the trust fund may be spent without 8-22 appropriation and only to fund the program. Interest and income 8-23 from the assets of the trust fund shall be credited to and 8-24 deposited in the trust fund. 8-25 (b) In each state fiscal year the coordinating board may 8-26 spend from the trust fund to cover the costs of administering the 8-27 program an amount not to exceed 2.5 percent of the total amount of 9-1 money deposited into the fund in that fiscal year. 9-2 (c) The coordinating board may solicit and accept gifts and 9-3 grants from any public or private source for the purposes of this 9-4 subchapter. 9-5 (d) The legislature may appropriate money to the Texas hope 9-6 scholarship trust fund. 9-7 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 9-8 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall 9-9 award scholarships under the Texas Hope Scholarship Program 9-10 beginning with the 2000 fall semester. 9-11 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 9-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 9-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 9-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 9-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.