79R857 KSD-D
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 31
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring students receiving certain financial aid at
institutions of higher education to meet timely graduation and
academic progress requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 56.304(e), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) A person is not eligible to receive [person's
eligibility for] a TEXAS grant for any term or semester in which the
person is enrolled in a program leading to an undergraduate
certificate or degree if the person is not awarded the certificate
or degree from an eligible institution within the applicable period
prescribed by Section 56.462 to qualify for forgiveness of a Texas
B-On-time loan [ends on the sixth anniversary of the initial award
of a TEXAS grant to the person and the person's enrollment in an
eligible institution,] unless the person is provided additional
time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant under this
subsection. The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant
additional time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant in
the event of a hardship or other good cause shown that prevents the
person from continuing the person's enrollment during the period
the person would otherwise have been eligible to receive a TEXAS
grant, including a showing of a severe illness or other
debilitating condition or that the person is or was responsible for
the care of a sick, injured, or needy person.
SECTION 2. Sections 56.305(e) and (g), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(e) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
satisfactory academic progress toward an undergraduate degree or
certificate only if:
(1) in the person's first academic year the person
meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
institution at which the person is enrolled; and
(2) in a subsequent academic year, the person:
(A) completed [completes] at least 30 [75 percent
of the] semester credit hours [attempted] in the student's most
recent academic year; and
(B) has earned [earns] an overall grade point
average of at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on
coursework previously attempted at institutions of higher
education.
(g) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant, in the
event of a hardship or for other good cause shown, including a
showing of a severe illness or other debilitating condition that
may affect the person's academic performance or that the person is
responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person and
that the person's provision of care may affect the person's academic
performance, to receive a TEXAS grant:
(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
under Subsection (a)(3); or
(2) if the student's grade point average or the number
of semester credit hours completed by the student [completion rate]
falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
Subsection (e).
SECTION 3. Section 56.462, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 56.462. LOAN FORGIVENESS. A student who receives a
Texas B-On-time loan shall be forgiven the amount of the student's
loan if the student is awarded an undergraduate certificate or
degree at an eligible institution with a cumulative grade point
average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent:
(1) within:
(A) four calendar years after the date the
student initially enrolled in the institution or another eligible
institution if:
(i) the institution is a four-year
institution; and
(ii) the student is awarded a degree other
than a degree in engineering, architecture, or any other program
determined by the coordinating board to require more than four
years to complete;
(B) five calendar years after the date the
student initially enrolled in the institution or another eligible
institution if:
(i) the institution is a four-year
institution; and
(ii) the student is awarded a degree in
engineering, architecture, or any other program determined by the
coordinating board to require more than four years to complete; or
(C) two years after the date the student
initially enrolled in the institution or another eligible
institution if the institution is a public junior college or public
technical institute; or
(2) with a total number of semester credit hours,
including transfer credit hours and excluding hours earned
exclusively by examination and hours earned for a course for which
the student received credit toward the student's high school
academic requirements, that is not more than six hours more than the
minimum number of semester credit hours required to complete the
certificate or degree.
SECTION 4. Section 61.225, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.225. ELIGIBILITY [QUALIFICATIONS] FOR GRANT. (a)
To be eligible for a tuition equalization grant in the first
academic year in which the person receives the grant, a person must:
(1) be a Texas resident as defined by the coordinating
board and meet, at a minimum, the resident requirements defined by
law for Texas resident tuition in fully state-supported
institutions of higher education;
(2) be enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
load conforming to an individual degree plan in an approved college
or university;
(3) be required to pay more tuition than is required at
a public college or university and be charged no less than the
regular tuition required of all students enrolled at the
institution;
(4) establish financial need in accordance with
procedures and regulations of the coordinating board;
(5) not be a recipient of any form of athletic
scholarship; and
(6) have complied with other requirements adopted by
the coordinating board under this subchapter.
(b) After qualifying for a tuition equalization grant under
Subsection (a), a person may receive a tuition equalization grant
in a subsequent academic year in which the person is enrolled at an
approved institution only if the person:
(1) meets the requirements of Subsection (a); and
(2) completed at least 30 semester credit hours in the
person's most recent academic year or, if the person was not
enrolled for both regular semesters of that academic year,
completed at least 15 semester credit hours in that academic year.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a person is not
eligible to receive a tuition equalization grant in any term or
semester in which the person is enrolled in a program leading to an
undergraduate certificate or degree if the person is not awarded
the certificate or degree from an approved institution within the
applicable period prescribed by Section 56.452 to qualify for
forgiveness of a Texas B-On-time loan.
(d) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a tuition equalization
grant, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown, to
receive a tuition equalization grant if the person does not:
(1) complete the semester credit hours required by
Subsection (b)(2); or
(2) complete the person's certificate or degree
program within the period prescribed by Subsection (c).
SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
Sections 56.304 and 56.305, Education Code, apply beginning with
the 2005-2006 academic year, but only for TEXAS grants awarded on or
after the effective date of this Act. A TEXAS grant awarded before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 56.462,
Education Code, apply to a student who is awarded an undergraduate
certificate or degree on or after the effective date of this Act,
without regard to when the student is awarded a Texas B-On-time
loan.
(c) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 61.225,
Education Code, apply beginning with tuition equalization grants
for the 2005-2006 academic year, but only for tuition equalization
grants awarded on or after the effective date of this Act. A
tuition equalization grant awarded before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
effective date, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.