By:  Brown                                             S.B. No. 505
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to requiring students enrolled at certain medical and
 1-3     dental units to have health insurance coverage.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 51.961 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 51.961.  STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE.  (a)  The governing
 1-8     board of a medical and dental unit may require a student enrolled
 1-9     at a medical and dental unit to have in effect during the calendar
1-10     year of enrollment a health insurance policy for health care
1-11     services received by the student.
1-12           (b)  The governing board of a medical and dental unit shall
1-13     determine the minimum coverage standards for health insurance
1-14     required under this section.
1-15           (c)  If the student agrees in writing, the medical and dental
1-16     unit shall provide a reasonable estimate of the cost of the health
1-17     insurance coverage within the student's cost of education for
1-18     financial aid purposes.
1-19           (d)  If a governing board of a medical and dental unit
1-20     requires health insurance coverage for students under Subsection
1-21     (a), a student may be provisionally enrolled at the medical and
1-22     dental unit for one academic session without the coverage in order
1-23     to allow the student time to obtain the coverage.
1-24           (e)  The governing board of a medical and dental unit may
1-25     adopt such other rules and regulations as it determines necessary
 2-1     to carry out the purposes of this section.
 2-2           (f)  In this section, "governing board" and "medical and
 2-3     dental unit" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
 2-4           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
 2-5     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
 2-6     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 2-7     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 2-8     Act takes effect August 27, 2001.