77R10758 KSD-D
By Rangel, Jones of Dallas, Hochberg, H.B. No. 3050
Seaman, Brown of Brazos
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3050:
By Farabee C.S.H.B. No. 3050
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment and operation of the Toward
1-3 EXcellence, Access, & Success (TEXAS) II grant program.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter O to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER O. TOWARD EXCELLENCE, ACCESS, & SUCCESS
1-8 (TEXAS) II GRANT PROGRAM
1-9 Sec. 56.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-10 (1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
1-11 Education Coordinating Board.
1-12 (2) "Eligible institution" means:
1-13 (A) a public junior college; or
1-14 (B) a public technical institute.
1-15 (3) "Public junior college" and "public technical
1-16 institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
1-17 Sec. 56.352. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) The student
1-18 financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known
1-19 as the Toward EXcellence, Access, & Success (TEXAS) II grant
1-20 program, and an individual grant awarded under this subchapter is
1-21 known as a TEXAS II grant.
1-22 (b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
1-23 money to enable eligible students to attend public junior colleges
1-24 and technical institutes in this state.
2-1 Sec. 56.353. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The
2-2 coordinating board shall administer the TEXAS II grant program and
2-3 shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the TEXAS II grant
2-4 program or this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult
2-5 with the student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
2-6 developing the rules.
2-7 (b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
2-8 TEXAS II grant to an eligible student enrolled in an eligible
2-9 institution in a manner consistent with the administration of
2-10 federal student financial aid programs.
2-11 (c) The total amount of TEXAS II grants awarded may not
2-12 exceed the amount available for the program from appropriations,
2-13 gifts, grants, or other funds.
2-14 (d) In determining who should receive a TEXAS II grant, the
2-15 coordinating board and the eligible institutions shall give highest
2-16 priority to awarding TEXAS II grants to students who demonstrate
2-17 the greatest financial need.
2-18 Sec. 56.354. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
2-19 eligible initially for a TEXAS II grant, a person must:
2-20 (1) be a resident of this state as determined by
2-21 coordinating board rules;
2-22 (2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
2-23 coordinating board;
2-24 (3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
2-25 program at an eligible institution;
2-26 (4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
2-27 one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
3-1 associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
3-2 coordinating board;
3-3 (5) have applied for any available financial aid or
3-4 assistance; and
3-5 (6) comply with any additional nonacademic requirement
3-6 adopted by the coordinating board under this subchapter.
3-7 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS II grant if
3-8 the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under
3-9 Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances
3-10 Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving a
3-11 controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
3-12 Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
3-13 requirements under this subchapter and has:
3-14 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
3-15 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
3-16 completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least
3-17 two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion;
3-18 or
3-19 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
3-20 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
3-21 the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
3-22 subchapter.
3-23 (c) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS II grant if
3-24 the person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.
3-25 (d) A person may not receive a TEXAS II grant for more than
3-26 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
3-27 (e) A person may not receive a TEXAS II grant if the person
4-1 is eligible for a TEXAS grant.
4-2 (f) A person's eligibility for a TEXAS II grant ends on the
4-3 fourth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS II grant to the
4-4 person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution.
4-5 Sec. 56.355. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
4-6 REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a TEXAS II
4-7 grant, a person may continue to receive a TEXAS II grant during
4-8 each semester or term in which the person is enrolled at an
4-9 eligible institution only if the person:
4-10 (1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
4-11 the coordinating board;
4-12 (2) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
4-13 program at an eligible institution;
4-14 (3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
4-15 load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program,
4-16 as determined by the coordinating board;
4-17 (4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
4-18 associate degree or certificate; and
4-19 (5) complies with any additional nonacademic
4-20 requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
4-21 (b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a TEXAS
4-22 II grant under this section if the person has been convicted of a
4-23 felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
4-24 (Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
4-25 jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
4-26 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
4-27 applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
5-1 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
5-2 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
5-3 completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least
5-4 two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion;
5-5 or
5-6 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
5-7 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
5-8 the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
5-9 subchapter.
5-10 (c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
5-11 Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
5-12 person may not receive a TEXAS II grant during the next semester or
5-13 term in which the person enrolls. A person may become eligible to
5-14 receive a TEXAS II grant in a subsequent semester or term if the
5-15 person:
5-16 (1) completes a semester or term during which the
5-17 student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
5-18 (2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
5-19 (d) For the purpose of this section, satisfactory academic
5-20 progress toward an associate degree or certificate shall be
5-21 determined in a manner consistent with the administration of
5-22 federal financial aid programs.
5-23 (e) A person who is eligible to receive a TEXAS II grant
5-24 continues to remain eligible to receive the TEXAS II grant if the
5-25 person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
5-26 Sec. 56.356. GRANT USE. A person receiving a TEXAS II grant
5-27 may use the money to pay any usual and customary cost of attendance
6-1 at an eligible institution incurred by the student. The
6-2 institution may disburse all or part of the proceeds of a TEXAS II
6-3 grant to an eligible person only if the tuition and required fees
6-4 incurred by the person at the institution have been paid.
6-5 Sec. 56.357. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a TEXAS II
6-6 grant for a student enrolled full-time at a public technical
6-7 institute is the amount determined by the coordinating board as the
6-8 average statewide amount of tuition and required fees that a
6-9 resident student enrolled full-time in an associate degree or
6-10 certificate program would be charged for that semester or term at
6-11 public technical institutes.
6-12 (b) The amount of a TEXAS II grant for a student enrolled
6-13 full-time at a public junior college is the amount determined by
6-14 the coordinating board as the average statewide amount of tuition
6-15 and required fees that a student who is a resident of the junior
6-16 college district and is enrolled full-time in an associate degree
6-17 or certificate program would be charged for that semester or term
6-18 at public junior colleges.
6-19 (c) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
6-20 coordinating board to increase or decrease, in proportion to the
6-21 number of semester credit hours in which a student is enrolled, the
6-22 amount of a TEXAS II grant award under this section to a student
6-23 who is enrolled in a number of semester credit hours in excess of
6-24 or below the number of semester credit hours described in Section
6-25 56.354(a)(4) or 56.355(a)(3).
6-26 (d) The amount of a TEXAS II grant may not be reduced by any
6-27 gift aid for which the person receiving the grant is eligible,
7-1 unless the total amount of a person's grant plus any gift aid
7-2 received exceeds the total cost of attendance at an eligible
7-3 institution.
7-4 (e) Not later than January 31 of each year, the coordinating
7-5 board shall publish the amounts of each grant established by the
7-6 board for the academic year beginning the next fall semester.
7-7 (f) The total amount of grants that a student may receive in
7-8 an academic year under this subchapter and under Section 61.221 may
7-9 not exceed the maximum amount authorized under Section 61.227.
7-10 (g) An eligible institution may not deny admission to or
7-11 enrollment in the institution based on a person's eligibility to
7-12 receive a TEXAS II grant or a person's receipt of a TEXAS II grant.
7-13 (h) An institution may use other available sources of
7-14 financial aid to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS II
7-15 grant and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at the
7-16 institution.
7-17 SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
7-18 Board and the eligible institutions shall award scholarships under
7-19 the TEXAS II grant program established under Subchapter O, Chapter
7-20 56, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2001
7-21 fall semester.
7-22 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
7-23 adopt the initial rules for awarding grants under the TEXAS II
7-24 grant program established under Subchapter O, Chapter 56, Education
7-25 Code, as added by this Act, not later than July 31, 2001.
7-26 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
7-27 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
8-1 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
8-2 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
8-3 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.