78R3689 JSA-D
By: Howard H.B. No. 1449
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibiting discrimination in awarding state
scholarships or other financial aid for higher education based on a
person's high school attendance or achievement.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.004. NONDISCRIMINATION IN FINANCIAL AID AWARDS
BASED ON HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OR ACHIEVEMENT. (a) An institution
of higher education or state agency that awards financial aid of any
kind to students to attend public or private institutions of higher
education may not require a person to have attended a public high
school or an accredited private high school to be eligible for any
form of financial aid the institution or agency awards. A
requirement that a person have graduated from high school to be
eligible for financial aid must treat a person who presents
evidence that the person graduated from an unaccredited private
high school or successfully completed a secondary school program in
a home school setting the same as a person who graduated from a
public high school.
(b) An institution of higher education or state agency may
not award a scholarship or other financial aid based on a person's
high school grade point average or other measure of a person's
academic performance before attending an institution of higher
education, other than the person's score on the Scholastic
Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT), or a
separately scored portion of one of those tests. An institution of
higher education or state agency that awards scholarships or other
financial aid based on those test scores must consider a person's
score on either of those tests, or on comparable portions of either
of those tests, and may not limit eligibility or consideration to
persons who have test scores for only one of those tests.
SECTION 2. Section 56.304(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) To be eligible initially for a TEXAS grant, a person
must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) meet either of the following academic
requirements:
(A) be a graduate of a public high school or an
accredited or unaccredited private high school, including a home
school, in this state who graduated not earlier than the 1998-1999
school year [and who completed the recommended or advanced high
school curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025 or its
equivalent]; or
(B) have received an associate degree from an
eligible institution not earlier than May 1, 2001;
(3) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
coordinating board;
(4) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
certificate program at an eligible institution;
(5) be enrolled as:
(A) an entering undergraduate student for at
least three-fourths of a full course load for an entering
undergraduate student, as determined by the coordinating board, not
later than the 16th month after the date of the person's graduation
from high school; or
(B) an entering student for at least
three-fourths of a full course load for an undergraduate student as
determined by the coordinating board, not later than the 12th month
after the month the person receives an associate degree from an
eligible institution;
(6) have applied for any available financial aid or
assistance; and
(7) comply with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
subchapter.
SECTION 3. Section 56.304(f), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies
beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.