1-1     By:  Ellis                                            S.B. No. 1057
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 2, 2001; March 6, 2001, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Education; March 26, 2001,
 1-4     reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0;
 1-5     March 26, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the administration of the TEXAS grant program and to
 1-9     the dissemination of student financial aid information.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subsection (e), Section 56.304, Education Code,
1-12     is amended to read as follows:
1-13           (e)  A person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on the
1-14     sixth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant to the
1-15     person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution,
1-16     unless the person is provided additional time during which the
1-17     person may receive a TEXAS grant under this subsection.  The
1-18     coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a person who is
1-19     otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant additional time during
1-20     which the person may receive a TEXAS grant in the event of a
1-21     hardship or other good cause shown that prevents the person from
1-22     continuing the person's enrollment during the period the person
1-23     would otherwise have been eligible to receive a TEXAS grant,
1-24     including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
1-25     condition or that the person is or was responsible for the care of
1-26     a sick, injured, or needy person.
1-27           SECTION 2.  Section 61.0776, Education Code, is amended by
1-28     adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
1-29           (f)  The board and the commissioner of education shall
1-30     develop a plan or set of recommendations to ensure that information
1-31     on the TEXAS grant program and other financial aid information
1-32     described by Subsection (a) is adequately publicized to prospective
1-33     students and financial aid recipients and their parents and to
1-34     school counselors, student financial aid offices, and other
1-35     appropriate entities.  The board and the commissioner of education
1-36     shall report the results of the study and the plan or
1-37     recommendations to the legislature not later than October 1, 2002.
1-38     This subsection expires January 1, 2003.
1-39           SECTION 3.  (a)  This Act takes effect immediately if it
1-40     receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
1-41     house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
1-42     If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
1-43     effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-44           (b)  The change in law made by this Act relating to the
1-45     eligibility of a person to receive a TEXAS grant applies beginning
1-46     with students who demonstrate eligibility to receive a grant for
1-47     the 2001-2002 academic year.
1-48                                  * * * * *