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79R862 CAS-D

By:  Zaffirini                                                    S.B. No. 30 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to tuition and fee exemptions for students contracting to 
graduate in a timely manner from public institutions of higher 
education.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 54.202 to read as follows:
	Sec. 54.202.  STUDENT CONTRACT TO GRADUATE IN A TIMELY 
MANNER.  (a)  On written request of an undergraduate student, the 
governing board of an institution of higher education shall enter 
into a contract with the student to exempt the student from the 
payment of the portion of tuition prescribed by this section if the 
student satisfies the requirement of timely graduation and other 
requirements established by the institution under the contract.  A 
student is not required to enter into a contract under this section.
	(b)  A student may not request an institution of higher 
education to enter into a contract under this section after the end 
of the student's first semester or term at the institution.  Each 
institution that offers an undergraduate degree program shall 
notify each entering undergraduate student of the provisions of 
this section not later than the sixth week of the student's first 
semester or term.
	(c)  Each contract under this section must require a student 
entering into the contract to:
		(1)  earn at least 30 required or elective credit hours 
each academic year;
		(2)  enroll in any specified courses or types of 
courses prescribed by the contract at the times required by the 
contract;
		(3)  maintain good academic standing as prescribed in 
the contract;  
		(4)  in consultation with the student's academic 
advisor, declare a major not later than the end of the student's 
second academic year at the institution, in the case of a student 
who enrolls and remains continuously enrolled in a general academic 
teaching institution; and
		(5)  earn, as prescribed by the institution in the 
contract, additional credit hours during one or more regular 
semesters or  summer sessions if the student's degree program 
requires more than 120 credit hours for a bachelor's degree or more 
than 60 credit hours for an associate degree.
	(d)  In addition to the provisions required under Subsection 
(c), the institution of higher education offering a contract under 
this section or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may 
provide for any other reasonable provision to be included in a 
contract under this section.
	(e)  A student who has entered into and satisfies the 
requirements of a contract under this section and who submits an 
application that is approved as described by Subsection (g) is 
exempt from the payment of tuition  authorized by this chapter for:
		(1)  the final 15 credit hours required for the 
student's bachelor's degree program; or
		(2)  the final nine credit hours required for the 
student's associate degree program.
	(f)  In addition to the tuition exemption under Subsection 
(e), each contract under this section must require the institution 
of higher education entering the contract to exempt a student 
described by Subsection (e) from the payment of any tuition and fees 
for a course required for the student's degree program that was 
unavailable to the student at the appropriate time as specified by 
the institution in the contract.
	(g)  A student who enters a contract under this section must 
apply for an exemption under Subsection (e) or (f) in the manner 
provided by the governing board of the institution of higher 
education granting the exemption.  The governing board shall 
require an applicant for an exemption to submit satisfactory 
evidence that the applicant is entitled to the exemption.
	(h)  An institution of higher education may not contract 
under this section with a student who transfers to the institution 
from another public or private institution of higher education.  A 
student's transfer from one institution of higher education to 
another voids a contract entered into by the student under this 
section with the prior institution, other than a contract for which 
an exemption has previously been awarded to the student under 
Subsection (e)(2).  A person who is eligible to apply for an 
exemption under that subdivision is ineligible to receive an 
exemption under Subsection (e)(1), regardless of whether the 
student claims the exemption available to the student under 
Subsection (e)(2).
	(i)  This section does not apply to a student seeking a 
certificate at a public junior college.
	(j)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall 
adopt rules consistent with this section as necessary to implement 
this section, including rules to allow an otherwise qualified 
student to receive an exemption under this section if the student is 
unable to satisfy  a requirement for the exemption solely as a 
result of a hardship or other good cause.
	(k)  A student may not receive an exemption from tuition or 
fees under this section for a semester or session before the 2006 
fall semester.  This subsection expires January 1, 2008.
	SECTION 2.  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, 2005.