80R10467 JRJ-D
 
  By: Morrison H.B. No. 2978
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to engineering recruitment programs established by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter Q to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Q. ENGINEERING RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS
       Sec. 61.791.  ENGINEERING SUMMER PROGRAM. (a) The board
shall establish and administer, using funds appropriated for that
purpose, a one-week summer program to take place on the campus of
each general academic teaching institution that offers an
engineering degree program. The summer program must be designed
for middle and high school students and to expose those students to
math, science, and engineering concepts that a student in an
engineering degree program may encounter.
       (b)  The board by rule shall establish the requirements for
admission to a summer program established under this section.  The
governing board of each institution to which this section applies
shall cooperate with the board in administering this section.
       Sec. 61.792.  ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. (a) The
board shall establish and administer, using funds appropriated for
that purpose, scholarships for students pursuing a degree in
engineering at a general academic teaching institution.
       (b)  To qualify for a scholarship under this section, a
student must:
             (1)  have graduated with a grade point average in the
top 20 percent of the student's high school graduating class;
             (2)  have received a score on the Scholastic Assessment
Test (SAT) of at least 1,875 out of 2,400 or an equivalent score on
the ACT test; and
             (3)  maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a
four-point scale in the engineering program in which the student is
enrolled.
       (c)  The board shall adopt rules as necessary for the
administration of this section, including rules providing for the
determination of the amount of each scholarship.
       Sec. 61.793.  FUNDING. The board shall administer this
subchapter using available appropriations and gifts, grants, and
donations made for the purposes of this subchapter.
       SECTION 2.  (a) Subchapter Q, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2007-2008 academic
year.
       (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter Q, Chapter 61,
Education Code, as added 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, 2007.