By: Van de Putte, Zaffirini S.B. No. 579
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of children of certain military
personnel to receive Texas B-On-time loans.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 56.455, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 56.455. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR LOAN. To be eligible
initially for a Texas B-On-time loan, a person must:
(1) be a resident of this state under Section 54.052 or
be entitled, as a child of a member of the armed forces of the United
States, to pay tuition at the rate provided for residents of this
state under Section 54.058 [for purposes of Subchapter B, Chapter
54];
(2) meet one of the following academic requirements:
(A) be a graduate of a public or accredited
private high school in this state who graduated not earlier than the
2002-2003 school year under the recommended or advanced high school
program established under Section 28.025(a); [or]
(B) be a graduate of a high school operated by the
United States Department of Defense who:
(i) graduated from that school not earlier
than the 2002–2003 school year; and
(ii) at the time of graduation from that
school was a dependent child of a member of the armed forces of the
United States; or
(C) have received an associate degree from an
eligible institution not earlier than May 1, 2005;
(3) be enrolled for a full course load for an
undergraduate student, as determined by the coordinating board, in
an undergraduate degree or certificate program at an eligible
institution;
(4) be eligible for federal financial aid, except that
a person is not required to meet any financial need requirement
applicable to a particular federal financial aid program; and
(5) comply with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
subchapter.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act relating
to the eligibility of a person to receive a Texas B-On-time loan
applies beginning with loans awarded for the 2005–2006 academic
year. Loans awarded for an academic year before the 2005–2006
academic year are covered by the law in effect immediately before
the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules for the administration of Section 56.455, Education
Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable after this Act
takes effect. For that purpose, the coordinating board may adopt
the rules in the manner provided by law for emergency rules.
SECTION 3. 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.