By:  Ellis                                            S.B. No. 1057
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the administration of the TEXAS grant program and to
 1-3     the dissemination of student financial aid information.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subsection (e), Section 56.304, Education Code,
 1-6     is amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (e)  A person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on the
 1-8     sixth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant to the
 1-9     person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution,
1-10     unless the person is provided additional time during which the
1-11     person may receive a TEXAS grant under this subsection.  The
1-12     coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a person who is
1-13     otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant additional time during
1-14     which the person may receive a TEXAS grant in the event of a
1-15     hardship or other good cause shown that prevents the person from
1-16     continuing the person's enrollment during the period the person
1-17     would otherwise have been eligible to receive a TEXAS grant,
1-18     including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
1-19     condition or that the person is or was responsible for the care of
1-20     a sick, injured, or needy person.
1-21           SECTION 2.  Section 61.0776, Education Code, is amended by
1-22     adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
1-23           (f)  The board and the commissioner of education shall
1-24     develop a plan or set of recommendations to ensure that information
1-25     on the TEXAS grant program and other financial aid information
 2-1     described by Subsection (a) is adequately publicized to prospective
 2-2     students and financial aid recipients and their parents and to
 2-3     school counselors, student financial aid offices, and other
 2-4     appropriate entities.  The board and the commissioner of education
 2-5     shall report the results of the study and the plan or
 2-6     recommendations to the legislature not later than October 1, 2002.
 2-7     This subsection expires January 1, 2003.
 2-8           SECTION 3.  (a)  This Act takes effect immediately if it
 2-9     receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
2-10     house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
2-11     If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
2-12     effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-13           (b)  The change in law made by this Act relating to the
2-14     eligibility of a person to receive a TEXAS grant applies beginning
2-15     with students who demonstrate eligibility to receive a grant for
2-16     the 2001-2002 academic year.