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 O to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER O. TOWARD EXCELLENCE, ACCESS, & SUCCESS
1-8 (TEXAS) GRANT II 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;
1-14 (B) a public technical institute; or
1-15 (C) a public state college.
1-16 (3) "Public junior college," "public technical
1-17 institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
1-18 by Section 61.003.
1-19 Sec. 56.352. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) The student
1-20 financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known
1-21 as the Toward EXcellence, Access, & Success (TEXAS) grant II
1-22 program, and an individual grant awarded under this subchapter is
1-23 known as a TEXAS grant II.
1-24 (b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
1-25 money to enable eligible students to attend two-year public
2-1 institutions of higher education in this state.
2-2 Sec. 56.353. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The
2-3 coordinating board shall administer the TEXAS grant II program and
2-4 shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the TEXAS grant II
2-5 program or this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult
2-6 with the student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
2-7 developing the rules.
2-8 (b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
2-9 TEXAS grant II to an eligible student enrolled in an eligible
2-10 institution in a manner consistent with the administration of
2-11 federal student financial aid programs.
2-12 (c) The total amount of grants awarded under the TEXAS grant
2-13 II program may not exceed the amount available for the program from
2-14 appropriations, gifts, grants, or other funds.
2-15 (d) In determining who should receive a TEXAS grant II, the
2-16 coordinating board and the eligible institutions shall give highest
2-17 priority to awarding TEXAS grants II to students who demonstrate
2-18 the greatest financial need.
2-19 Sec. 56.354. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
2-20 eligible initially for a grant under the TEXAS grant II program, a
2-21 person must:
2-22 (1) be a resident of this state as determined by
2-23 coordinating board rules;
2-24 (2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
2-25 coordinating board;
2-26 (3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
3-1 program at an eligible institution;
3-2 (4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
3-3 one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
3-4 associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
3-5 coordinating board;
3-6 (5) have applied for any available financial aid or
3-7 assistance; and
3-8 (6) comply with any additional nonacademic requirement
3-9 adopted by the coordinating board under this subchapter.
3-10 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II if
3-11 the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under
3-12 Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances
3-13 Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving a
3-14 controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
3-15 Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
3-16 requirements under this subchapter and has:
3-17 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
3-18 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
3-19 completed a period of probation ordered by a court and at least two
3-20 years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
3-21 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
3-22 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
3-23 the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
3-24 subchapter.
3-25 (c) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II if
3-26 the person has been granted an associate or baccalaureate degree.
4-1 (d) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant II for more than
4-2 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
4-3 (e) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant II if the person
4-4 is eligible for a TEXAS grant.
4-5 (f) A person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant II ends on the
4-6 fourth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant II to the
4-7 person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution.
4-8 Sec. 56.355. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
4-9 REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a TEXAS grant
4-10 II, a person may continue to receive a TEXAS grant II during each
4-11 semester or term in which the person is enrolled at an eligible
4-12 institution only if the person:
4-13 (1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
4-14 the coordinating board;
4-15 (2) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
4-16 program at an eligible institution;
4-17 (3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
4-18 load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program,
4-19 as determined by the coordinating board;
4-20 (4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
4-21 associate degree or certificate; and
4-22 (5) complies with any additional nonacademic
4-23 requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
4-24 (b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a TEXAS
4-25 grant II under this section if the person has been convicted of a
4-26 felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
5-1 (Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
5-2 jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
5-3 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
5-4 applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
5-5 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
5-6 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
5-7 completed a period of probation ordered by a court and at least two
5-8 years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
5-9 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
5-10 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
5-11 the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
5-12 subchapter.
5-13 (c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
5-14 Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
5-15 person may not receive a TEXAS grant II during the next semester or
5-16 term in which the person enrolls. A person may become eligible to
5-17 receive a TEXAS grant II in a subsequent semester or term if the
5-18 person:
5-19 (1) completes a semester or term during which the
5-20 student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
5-21 (2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
5-22 (d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
5-23 satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
5-24 certificate only if the person:
5-25 (1) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
5-26 credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
6-1 and
6-2 (2) earns an overall grade point average of at least
6-3 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
6-4 previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
6-5 (e) A person who is eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II
6-6 continues to remain eligible to receive the TEXAS grant II if the
6-7 person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
6-8 Sec. 56.356. GRANT USE. A person receiving a TEXAS grant II
6-9 may use the money to pay any usual and customary cost of attendance
6-10 at an eligible institution incurred by the student. The
6-11 institution may disburse all or part of the proceeds of a TEXAS
6-12 grant II to an eligible person only if the tuition and required
6-13 fees incurred by the person at the institution have been paid.
6-14 Sec. 56.357. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a TEXAS grant
6-15 II for a student enrolled full-time at an eligible institution is
6-16 the amount determined by the coordinating board as the average
6-17 statewide amount of tuition and required fees that a resident
6-18 student enrolled full-time in an associate degree or certificate
6-19 program would be charged for that semester or term at eligible
6-20 institutions.
6-21 (b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
6-22 coordinating board to increase or decrease, in proportion to the
6-23 number of semester credit hours in which a student is enrolled, the
6-24 amount of a TEXAS grant II award under this section to a student
6-25 who is enrolled in a number of semester credit hours in excess of
6-26 or below the number of semester credit hours described in Section
7-1 56.354(a)(4) or 56.355(a)(3).
7-2 (c) The amount of a TEXAS grant II may not be reduced by any
7-3 gift aid for which the person receiving the grant is eligible,
7-4 unless the total amount of a person's grant plus any gift aid
7-5 received exceeds the total cost of attendance at an eligible
7-6 institution.
7-7 (d) Not later than January 31 of each year, the coordinating
7-8 board shall publish the amounts of each grant established by the
7-9 board for the academic year beginning the next fall semester.
7-10 (e) The total amount of grants that a student may receive in
7-11 an academic year under this subchapter and under Section 61.221 may
7-12 not exceed the maximum amount authorized under Section 61.227.
7-13 (f) An eligible institution may not:
7-14 (1) charge a person attending the institution who also
7-15 receives a TEXAS grant II an amount of tuition and required fees in
7-16 excess of the amount of the TEXAS grant II received by the person;
7-17 or
7-18 (2) deny admission to or enrollment in the institution
7-19 based on a person's eligibility to receive a TEXAS grant II or a
7-20 person's receipt of a TEXAS grant II.
7-21 (g) An institution may use other available sources of
7-22 financial aid, other than a loan or a Pell grant, to cover any
7-23 difference in the amount of a TEXAS grant II and the actual amount
7-24 of tuition and required fees at the institution.
7-25 SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
7-26 Board and the eligible institutions shall award scholarships under
8-1 the TEXAS grant II program established under Subchapter O, Chapter
8-2 56, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2001
8-3 fall semester.
8-4 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
8-5 adopt the initial rules for awarding grants under the TEXAS grant
8-6 II program established under Subchapter O, Chapter 56, Education
8-7 Code, as added by this Act, not later than July 31, 2001.
8-8 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
8-9 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
8-10 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
8-11 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
8-12 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
S.B. No. 1596
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1596 passed the Senate on
March 29, 2001, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 0, one
present not voting; May 4, 2001, Senate refused to concur in House
amendment and requested appointment of Conference Committee;
May 9, 2001, House granted request of the Senate; May 26, 2001,
Senate adopted Conference Committee Report by the following vote:
Yeas 30, Nays 0, one present not voting.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1596 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 1, 2001, by a non-record vote; May 9, 2001, House
granted request of the Senate for appointment of Conference
Committee; May 24, 2001, House adopted Conference Committee Report
by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, one present not voting.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
_______________________________
Date
_______________________________
Governor