80R2587 KEL-D
 
  By: Kolkhorst H.B. No. 2103
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a pilot program to award scholarships to certain
correctional officers enrolled at Sam Houston State University.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.   Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 54.220 to read as follows:
       Sec. 54.220.  CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SCHOLARSHIPS. (a) In
this section:
             (1)  "Correctional officer" means a correctional
officer employed in a confinement facility operated by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice.
             (2)  "Trust fund" means the correctional officer
scholarship trust fund.
       (b)  In each academic year, the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board shall establish a pilot program under which the
coordinating board awards scholarships, in a number to be
determined by the coordinating board after reviewing the total
amount of money available to the trust fund, to eligible persons
attending Sam Houston State University. A scholarship recipient
may use a scholarship to pay the tuition and fees required to attend
the university.  The amount of a scholarship shall be determined by
the coordinating board, not to exceed the amount of tuition and
required fees paid by the scholarship recipient to enroll in nine
semester credit hours at the university during each semester or
summer session for which the scholarship is awarded.
       (c)  If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number
of scholarships available in an academic year, the coordinating
board shall give priority to applicants with the greatest financial
need.
       (d)  To be eligible for a scholarship under this section, a
person must:
             (1)  be classified as a Texas resident under Subchapter
B;
             (2)  be enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at
Sam Houston State University;
             (3)  establish financial need as determined by
coordinating board rule;
             (4)  maintain good academic standing as determined by
coordinating board rule;
             (5)  have received an associate degree or certificate
from or have completed not less than 60 semester credit hours at an
institution of higher education in any state;
             (6)  be employed as a correctional officer during the
academic year for which the person receives the scholarship;
             (7)  agree to fulfill the correctional officer service
obligation of Subsection (e); and
             (8)  comply with any other requirements adopted by the
coordinating board under this section.
       (e)  For each increment of 36 semester credit hours for which
a person receives financial assistance under this section, the
person must agree to work full-time as a correctional officer for
one year after the person receives a baccalaureate degree from Sam
Houston State University.
       (f)  A scholarship recipient must fulfill the correctional
officer service obligation of Subsection (e) not later than the end
of a period equal to one year for each academic year for which the
person receives a scholarship under this section, beginning on the
60th day after the date on which the recipient is awarded a
baccalaureate degree by Sam Houston State University, unless the
coordinating board for good cause provides the recipient with
additional time to fulfill that obligation.
       (g)  A scholarship under this section is conditioned on the
recipient's maintenance of all qualifications provided by this
section and performance of the correctional officer service
obligation of Subsection (e). The scholarship is considered a loan
until the conditions of the scholarship are met.
       (h)  The coordinating board shall require a person who
receives a scholarship under this section to sign a promissory note
acknowledging the conditional nature of the scholarship and
promising to repay the amount of the scholarship plus applicable
interest and reasonable collection costs if the person does not
satisfy the conditions of the scholarship. The coordinating board
shall determine the terms of the promissory note. To the extent
practicable, the terms must be the same as those applicable to state
or federally guaranteed student loans made at the same time.  All
amounts collected in repayment of a scholarship, including interest
but excluding collection costs paid by the coordinating board to
another person to collect or assist in collecting the amount, shall
be deposited to the credit of the trust fund.
       (i)  The coordinating board shall determine the amount
required to be repaid by a scholarship recipient who does not
complete the correctional officer service obligation of Subsection
(e) in proportion to the part of the obligation that the recipient
has not completed.
       (j)  A person who receives a scholarship under this section
is considered to have failed to satisfy the conditions of the
scholarship, and the scholarship automatically becomes a loan, if
the person fails to remain enrolled at Sam Houston State University
or to make satisfactory progress toward a baccalaureate degree at
the university without good cause as determined by the coordinating
board.  The coordinating board shall adopt rules permitting a
scholarship recipient who transfers to another institution of
higher education to complete the correctional officer service
obligation in lieu of repayment of the loan after receiving a
baccalaureate degree from another institution of higher education
if the person remains continuously enrolled in an institution of
higher education until the person receives a baccalaureate degree.
       (k)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary
for the administration of this section, including rules relating to
the establishment of scholarships, the criteria for awarding a
scholarship, and the determination of eligibility.  The
coordinating board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted
under this subsection to Sam Houston State University and the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice.  The department shall make
reasonable efforts to notify all correctional officers of the pilot
program.
       (l)  The coordinating board shall award scholarships under
this section from the amount available in the trust fund. The trust
fund is established outside the treasury but is held in trust by the
comptroller. Money in the trust fund may be spent without
appropriation and only to fund the pilot program. Interest and
income from the assets of the trust fund shall be credited to and
deposited in the trust fund. In each state fiscal year the
coordinating board may spend from the trust fund to cover the costs
of administering this section an amount not to exceed 2.5 percent of
the total amount of money deposited into the trust fund in that
fiscal year.
       (m)  The coordinating board may solicit and accept gifts and
grants from any public or private source for the purposes of this
section and shall deposit a gift or grant to the credit of the trust
fund.
       (n)  The legislature may appropriate money to the trust fund.
       (o)  The coordinating board shall evaluate the effectiveness
of the pilot program established under this section and report the
results of the evaluation to the legislature not later than
December 31 of each even-numbered year.
       (p)  The coordinating board may not award a scholarship under
this section after the 2013-2014 academic year.  On January 1, 2015,
the trust fund is abolished and any amount remaining in the trust
fund shall be transferred to the general revenue fund.
       SECTION 2.  (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board shall adopt rules for awarding scholarships under Section
54.220, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than
December 1, 2007.
       (b)  The coordinating board shall award scholarships under
Section 54.220, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning
with the 2008-2009 academic year.
       SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.