1-1     By:  Bivins                                           S.B. No. 1596
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2001; March 14, 2001, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Education; March 26, 2001,
 1-4     reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, 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 establishment and operation of the Toward
 1-9     EXcellence, Access, & Success (TEXAS) grant II program.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-12     Subchapter N to read as follows:
1-13             SUBCHAPTER N.  TOWARD EXCELLENCE, ACCESS, & SUCCESS
1-14                          (TEXAS) GRANT II PROGRAM
1-15           Sec. 56.401.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
1-16                 (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
1-17     Education Coordinating Board.
1-18                 (2)  "Eligible institution" means:
1-19                       (A)  a public junior college; or
1-20                       (B)  a public technical institute.
1-21                 (3)  "Public junior college" and "public technical
1-22     institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
1-23           Sec. 56.402.  PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE.  (a)  The student
1-24     financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known
1-25     as the Toward EXcellence, Access, & Success (TEXAS) grant II
1-26     program, and an individual grant awarded under this subchapter is
1-27     known as a TEXAS grant II.
1-28           (b)  The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
1-29     money to enable eligible students to attend public two-year
1-30     institutions of higher education in this state.
1-31           Sec. 56.403.  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.  (a)  The
1-32     coordinating board shall administer the TEXAS grant II program and
1-33     shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the TEXAS grant II
1-34     program or this subchapter.  The coordinating board shall consult
1-35     with the student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
1-36     developing the rules.
1-37           (b)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
1-38     TEXAS grant II to an eligible student enrolled in an eligible
1-39     institution in a manner consistent with the administration of
1-40     federal student financial aid programs.
1-41           (c)  The total amount of TEXAS grants II awarded may not
1-42     exceed the amount available for the program from appropriations,
1-43     gifts, grants, or other funds.
1-44           (d)  In determining who should receive a TEXAS grant II, the
1-45     coordinating board and the eligible institutions shall give highest
1-46     priority to awarding TEXAS grants II to students who demonstrate
1-47     the greatest financial need.
1-48           Sec. 56.404.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT.  (a)  To be
1-49     eligible initially for a TEXAS grant II, a person must:
1-50                 (1)  be a resident of this state as determined by
1-51     coordinating board rules;
1-52                 (2)  meet financial need requirements as defined by the
1-53     coordinating board;
1-54                 (3)  be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
1-55     program at an eligible institution;
1-56                 (4)  be enrolled as an entering undergraduate student
1-57     for at least one-half of a full course load for an entering
1-58     undergraduate student, as determined by the coordinating board;
1-59                 (5)  have applied for any available financial aid or
1-60     assistance; and
1-61                 (6)  comply with any additional nonacademic requirement
1-62     adopted by the coordinating board under this subchapter.
1-63           (b)  A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II if
1-64     the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under
 2-1     Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law of another
 2-2     jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
 2-3     481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
 2-4     applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and:
 2-5                 (1)  has received a certificate of discharge by the
 2-6     Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
 2-7     completed a period of probation or community supervision ordered by
 2-8     a court and at least two years have elapsed from the date of
 2-9     receiving the certificate or completing the probation or community
2-10     supervision; or
2-11                 (2)  has been pardoned, has had the record of the
2-12     offense expunged from the person's record, or has otherwise been
2-13     released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under
2-14     this subchapter.
2-15           (c)  A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II if
2-16     the person has been granted an associate or baccalaureate degree.
2-17           (d)  A person may not receive a TEXAS grant II for more than
2-18     75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
2-19           (e)  A person may not receive a TEXAS grant II if the person
2-20     is eligible for a TEXAS grant.
2-21           (f)  A person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant II ends on the
2-22     fourth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant II to the
2-23     person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution.
2-24           Sec. 56.405.  CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2-25     REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  After initially qualifying for a TEXAS grant
2-26     II, a person may continue to receive a TEXAS grant II during each
2-27     semester or term in which the person is enrolled at an eligible
2-28     institution only if the person:
2-29                 (1)  meets financial need requirements as defined by
2-30     the coordinating board;
2-31                 (2)  is enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
2-32     certificate program at an eligible institution;
2-33                 (3)  is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
2-34     load for an undergraduate student, as determined by the
2-35     coordinating board;
2-36                 (4)  makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
2-37     associate degree or certificate; and
2-38                 (5)  complies with any additional nonacademic
2-39     requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
2-40           (b)  A person is not eligible to continue to receive a TEXAS
2-41     grant II under this section if the person has been convicted of a
2-42     felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or
2-43     under the law of another jurisdiction involving a controlled
2-44     substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless
2-45     the person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements
2-46     under this subchapter and:
2-47                 (1)  has received a certificate of discharge by the
2-48     Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
2-49     completed a period of probation or community supervision ordered by
2-50     a court and at least two years have elapsed from the date of
2-51     receiving the certificate or completing the probation or community
2-52     supervision; or
2-53                 (2)  has been pardoned, has had the record of the
2-54     offense expunged from the person's record, or has otherwise been
2-55     released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under
2-56     this subchapter.
2-57           (c)  If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
2-58     Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
2-59     person may not receive a TEXAS grant II during the next semester or
2-60     term in which the person enrolls.  A person may become eligible to
2-61     receive a TEXAS grant II in a subsequent semester or term if the
2-62     person:
2-63                 (1)  completes a semester or term during which the
2-64     student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
2-65                 (2)  meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
2-66           (d)  For the purpose of this section, a person makes
2-67     satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
2-68     certificate only if the person:
2-69                 (1)  completes at least 75 percent of the semester
 3-1     credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
 3-2     and
 3-3                 (2)  earns an overall grade point average of at least
 3-4     2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
 3-5     previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
 3-6           (e)  A person who is eligible to receive a TEXAS grant II
 3-7     continues to remain eligible to receive the TEXAS grant II if the
 3-8     person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
 3-9           Sec. 56.406.  GRANT USE.  A person receiving a TEXAS grant II
3-10     may use the money to pay any usual and customary cost of attendance
3-11     at an institution of higher education incurred by the student.  The
3-12     institution may disburse all or part of the proceeds of a TEXAS
3-13     grant II to an eligible person only if the tuition and required
3-14     fees incurred by the person at the institution have been paid.
3-15           Sec. 56.407.  GRANT AMOUNT.  (a)  The amount of a TEXAS grant
3-16     II for a semester or term for a person enrolled full-time at an
3-17     eligible institution is the amount determined by the coordinating
3-18     board as the average statewide amount of tuition and required fees
3-19     that a resident student enrolled full-time in an associate degree
3-20     program would be charged for that semester or term at a public
3-21     junior college or public technical institute.
3-22           (b)  The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
3-23     coordinating board to increase or decrease, in proportion to the
3-24     number of semester credit hours in which a student is enrolled, the
3-25     amount of a TEXAS grant II award under this section to a student
3-26     who is enrolled in a number of semester credit hours in excess of
3-27     or below the number of semester credit hours described in Section
3-28     56.404(a)(4) or 56.405(a)(3).
3-29           (c)  The amount of a TEXAS grant II may not be reduced by any
3-30     gift aid for which the person receiving the grant is eligible
3-31     unless the total amount of a person's grant plus any gift aid
3-32     received exceeds the total cost of attendance at an eligible
3-33     institution.
3-34           (d)  Not later than January 31 of each year, the coordinating
3-35     board shall publish the amount of the grant established by the
3-36     board for the academic year beginning the next fall semester.
3-37           (e)  The total amount of grants that a student may receive in
3-38     an academic year under this subchapter and under Section 61.221 may
3-39     not exceed the maximum amount authorized under Section 61.227.
3-40           (f)  An eligible institution may not:
3-41                 (1)  charge a person attending the institution who also
3-42     receives a TEXAS grant II an amount of tuition and required fees in
3-43     excess of the amount of the TEXAS grant II received by the person;
3-44     or
3-45                 (2)  deny admission to or enrollment in the institution
3-46     based on a person's eligibility to receive a TEXAS grant II or a
3-47     person's receipt of a TEXAS grant II.
3-48           (g)  An institution may use other available sources of
3-49     financial aid to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS
3-50     grant II and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at the
3-51     institution.
3-52           SECTION 2.  (a)  Scholarships under the TEXAS grant II
3-53     program established under Subchapter N, Chapter 56, Education Code,
3-54     as added by this Act, shall be awarded by the Texas Higher
3-55     Education Coordinating Board and the eligible institutions of
3-56     higher education beginning with the 2001 fall semester.
3-57           (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
3-58     adopt the initial rules for awarding grants under the TEXAS grant
3-59     II program established under Subchapter N, Chapter 56, Education
3-60     Code, as added by this Act, not later than July 31, 2001.
3-61           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-62     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-63     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
3-64     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-65     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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