By: Bivins, Wentworth, West S.B. No. 1596
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) grant II 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 N to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER N. TOWARD EXCELLENCE, ACCESS, & SUCCESS
1-8 (TEXAS) GRANT II PROGRAM
1-9 Sec. 56.401. 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. 56.402. 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) grant II
1-20 program, and an individual grant awarded under this subchapter is
1-21 known as a TEXAS grant II.
1-22 (b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
1-23 money to enable eligible students to attend public two-year
1-24 institutions of higher education in this state.
1-25 Sec. 56.403. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The
2-1 coordinating board shall administer the TEXAS grant II program and
2-2 shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the TEXAS grant II
2-3 program or this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult
2-4 with the student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
2-5 developing the rules.
2-6 (b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
2-7 TEXAS grant II to an eligible student enrolled in an eligible
2-8 institution in a manner consistent with the administration of
2-9 federal student financial aid programs.
2-10 (c) The total amount of TEXAS grants II awarded may not
2-11 exceed the amount available for the program from appropriations,
2-12 gifts, grants, or other funds.
2-13 (d) In determining who should receive a TEXAS grant II, the
2-14 coordinating board and the eligible institutions shall give highest
2-15 priority to awarding TEXAS grants II to students who demonstrate
2-16 the greatest financial need.
2-17 Sec. 56.404. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
2-18 eligible initially for a TEXAS grant II, a person must:
2-19 (1) be a resident of this state as determined by
2-20 coordinating board rules;
2-21 (2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
2-22 coordinating board;
2-23 (3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
2-24 program at an eligible institution;
2-25 (4) be enrolled as an entering undergraduate student
2-26 for at least one-half of a full course load for an entering
3-1 undergraduate student, as determined by the coordinating board;
3-2 (5) have applied for any available financial aid or
3-3 assistance; and
3-4 (6) comply with any additional nonacademic requirement
3-5 adopted by the coordinating board under this subchapter.
3-6 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II if
3-7 the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under
3-8 Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law of another
3-9 jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
3-10 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
3-11 applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and:
3-12 (1) has received a certificate of discharge by the
3-13 Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
3-14 completed a period of probation or community supervision ordered by
3-15 a court and at least two years have elapsed from the date of
3-16 receiving the certificate or completing the probation or community
3-17 supervision; or
3-18 (2) has been pardoned, has had the record of the
3-19 offense expunged from the person's record, or has otherwise been
3-20 released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under
3-21 this subchapter.
3-22 (c) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II if
3-23 the person has been granted an associate or baccalaureate degree.
3-24 (d) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant II for more than
3-25 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
3-26 (e) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant II if the person
4-1 is eligible for a TEXAS grant.
4-2 (f) A person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant II ends on the
4-3 fourth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant II to the
4-4 person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution.
4-5 Sec. 56.405. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
4-6 REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a TEXAS grant
4-7 II, a person may continue to receive a TEXAS grant II during each
4-8 semester or term in which the person is enrolled at an eligible
4-9 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 undergraduate degree or
4-13 certificate program at an eligible institution;
4-14 (3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
4-15 load for an undergraduate student, as determined by the
4-16 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 grant II under this section if the person has been convicted of a
4-23 felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or
4-24 under the law of another jurisdiction involving a controlled
4-25 substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless
4-26 the person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements
5-1 under this subchapter and:
5-2 (1) has received a certificate of discharge by the
5-3 Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
5-4 completed a period of probation or community supervision ordered by
5-5 a court and at least two years have elapsed from the date of
5-6 receiving the certificate or completing the probation or community
5-7 supervision; or
5-8 (2) has been pardoned, has had the record of the
5-9 offense expunged from the person's record, or has otherwise been
5-10 released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under
5-11 this subchapter.
5-12 (c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
5-13 Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
5-14 person may not receive a TEXAS grant II during the next semester or
5-15 term in which the person enrolls. A person may become eligible to
5-16 receive a TEXAS grant II in a subsequent semester or term if the
5-17 person:
5-18 (1) completes a semester or term during which the
5-19 student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
5-20 (2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
5-21 (d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
5-22 satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
5-23 certificate only if the person:
5-24 (1) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
5-25 credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
5-26 and
6-1 (2) earns an overall grade point average of at least
6-2 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
6-3 previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
6-4 (e) A person who is eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II
6-5 continues to remain eligible to receive the TEXAS grant II if the
6-6 person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
6-7 Sec. 56.406. GRANT USE. A person receiving a TEXAS grant II
6-8 may use the money to pay any usual and customary cost of attendance
6-9 at an institution of higher education incurred by the student. The
6-10 institution may disburse all or part of the proceeds of a TEXAS
6-11 grant II to an eligible person only if the tuition and required
6-12 fees incurred by the person at the institution have been paid.
6-13 Sec. 56.407. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a TEXAS grant
6-14 II for a semester or term for a person enrolled full-time at an
6-15 eligible institution is the amount determined by the coordinating
6-16 board as the average statewide amount of tuition and required fees
6-17 that a resident student enrolled full-time in an associate degree
6-18 program would be charged for that semester or term at a public
6-19 junior college or public technical institute.
6-20 (b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
6-21 coordinating board to increase or decrease, in proportion to the
6-22 number of semester credit hours in which a student is enrolled, the
6-23 amount of a TEXAS grant II award under this section to a student
6-24 who is enrolled in a number of semester credit hours in excess of
6-25 or below the number of semester credit hours described in Section
6-26 56.404(a)(4) or 56.405(a)(3).
7-1 (c) The amount of a TEXAS grant II may not be reduced by any
7-2 gift aid for which the person receiving the grant is eligible
7-3 unless the total amount of a person's grant plus any gift aid
7-4 received exceeds the total cost of attendance at an eligible
7-5 institution.
7-6 (d) Not later than January 31 of each year, the coordinating
7-7 board shall publish the amount of the grant established by the
7-8 board for the academic year beginning the next fall semester.
7-9 (e) The total amount of grants that a student may receive in
7-10 an academic year under this subchapter and under Section 61.221 may
7-11 not exceed the maximum amount authorized under Section 61.227.
7-12 (f) An eligible institution may not:
7-13 (1) charge a person attending the institution who also
7-14 receives a TEXAS grant II an amount of tuition and required fees in
7-15 excess of the amount of the TEXAS grant II received by the person;
7-16 or
7-17 (2) deny admission to or enrollment in the institution
7-18 based on a person's eligibility to receive a TEXAS grant II or a
7-19 person's receipt of a TEXAS grant II.
7-20 (g) An institution may use other available sources of
7-21 financial aid to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS
7-22 grant II and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at the
7-23 institution.
7-24 SECTION 2. (a) Scholarships under the TEXAS grant II
7-25 program established under Subchapter N, Chapter 56, Education Code,
7-26 as added by this Act, shall be awarded by the Texas Higher
8-1 Education Coordinating Board and the eligible institutions of
8-2 higher education beginning with the 2001 fall semester.
8-3 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
8-4 adopt the initial rules for awarding grants under the TEXAS grant
8-5 II program established under Subchapter N, Chapter 56, Education
8-6 Code, as added by this Act, not later than July 31, 2001.
8-7 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
8-8 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
8-9 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
8-10 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
8-11 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.