79R4815 CAS-D

By:  Hinojosa                                                     S.B. No. 1671



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to higher education tuition exemptions for members of 
certain groups that are underrepresented among the faculty or 
administration of public junior colleges.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 54.215 to read as follows:
	Sec. 54.215.  INDIVIDUALS UNDERREPRESENTED AMONG PUBLIC 
JUNIOR COLLEGE FACULTY OR ADMINISTRATION.  (a)  In this section:
		(1)  "Educationally disadvantaged" has the meaning 
assigned by Section 5.001.
		(2)  "Low-performing campus" means a campus considered 
to be a low-performing campus under Section 39.132(a).
		(3)  "Public junior college" has the meaning assigned 
by Section 61.003.
	(b)  For purposes of this section, an individual is from a 
group that is underrepresented among the faculty or administration 
of public junior colleges if:
		(1)  while pursuing an undergraduate education, the 
individual's family income was not greater than the family income 
of a person who is educationally disadvantaged; or
		(2)  at the time the individual graduated from high 
school, the individual resided in an area from which a 
disproportionately low number of high school graduates enrolled in 
postsecondary educational institutions.
	(c)  The governing board of an institution of higher 
education shall exempt from the payment of tuition a resident of 
this state enrolled as a graduate student at the institution who:
		(1)  is employed in the current academic year by a 
public junior college as a member of the faculty or administration;
		(2)  is from a group that is underrepresented among the 
faculty or administration of public junior colleges; and
		(3)  graduated from a high school in this state:                       
			(A)  that, at the time of the individual's 
graduation, was a low-performing campus; or
			(B)  in which, at the time of the individual's 
graduation, at least 50 percent of the total number of students 
enrolled in the high school were educationally disadvantaged.
	(d)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall 
adopt:       
		(1)  rules governing the granting or denial of an 
exemption under this section, including rules relating to the 
determination of eligibility for an exemption; and
		(2)  a uniform application form for an exemption under 
this section. 
	SECTION 2.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of 
this section, this Act takes effect beginning with the 2006 fall 
semester.
	(b)  Not later than January 1, 2006, the Texas Higher 
Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules and forms for the 
administration of Section 54.215, Education Code, as added by this 
Act.
	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.