81R9907 SJM-F
 
  By: Ogden S.B. No. 2084
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to changing the eligibility for a tuition and fees
  exemption under the TEXAS grant program to accommodate the amount
  of funding available.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 56.301(2), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
               (2)  "Eligible institution" means:
                     (A)  for a person who graduates from high school
  on or after June 1, 2010, a general academic teaching institution as
  defined by Section 61.003; and
                     (B)  for any other person, an institution of
  higher education that offers one or more undergraduate degree or
  certification programs.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
  amended by amending Section 56.3041 and adding Section 56.3042 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 56.3041.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON GRADUATING FROM
  HIGH SCHOOL ON OR AFTER JUNE 1, 2010. (a)  To be eligible initially
  for a TEXAS grant, a person graduating from high school on or after
  June 1, 2010, must:
               (1)  be a resident of this state as determined by
  coordinating board rules;
               (2)  meet the academic requirements prescribed by
  Paragraph (A) or (B) as follows:
                     (A)  be a graduate of a public or accredited
  private high school in this state who completed the recommended
  high school program established under Section 28.025 or its
  equivalent and have accomplished at least two of the following:
                           (i)  graduated under the advanced high
  school program established under Section 28.025 or its equivalent
  or successfully completed the international baccalaureate diploma
  program, including program assessments;
                           (ii)  graduated from high school with a
  grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the
  equivalent;
                           (iii)  satisfied college readiness
  benchmarks on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or ACT, as
  determined by the coordinating board; or
                           (iv)  be ranked in the top one-third of the
  person's high school graduating class at the end of the semester
  used by the applicable eligible institution for admissions
  purposes; or
                     (B)  have received an associate degree from a
  public or private institution of higher education;
               (3)  meet financial need requirements established by
  the coordinating board;
               (4)  be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at
  an eligible institution;
               (5)  except as provided under rules adopted under
  Subsection (g), be enrolled as:
                     (A)  an entering undergraduate student for at
  least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
  coordinating board, not later than the 16th month after the date the
  person graduates from high school; or
                     (B)  a continuing undergraduate student for at
  least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
  coordinating board, not later than the 12th month after the date the
  person receives an associate degree from a public or private
  institution of higher education;
               (6)  have applied for any available financial aid or
  assistance; and
               (7)  comply with any additional nonacademic
  requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this
  subchapter.
         (a-1)  Subsection (a)(2)(A) applies to at least:
               (1)  25 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
  grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
  after June 1, 2010, but before June 1, 2011;
               (2)  50 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
  grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
  after June 1, 2011, but before June 1, 2012;
               (3)  75 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
  grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
  after June 1, 2012, but before June 1, 2013; and
               (4)  all students who graduate from high school on or
  after June 1, 2013.
         (a-2)  Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire January
  1, 2014.
         (b)  A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the
  person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Chapter
  481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law of another
  jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
  481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
  applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
               (1)  received a certificate of discharge from the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
  completed a period of probation ordered by a court and at least two
  years have elapsed from the date of the receipt of completion; or
               (2)  been pardoned, had the record of the offense
  expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
  the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
  subchapter.
         (c)  A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the
  person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.
         (d)  A person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than 150
  semester credit hours or the equivalent.
         (e)  Except as provided under rules adopted under Subsection
  (f), a person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on:
               (1)  the fifth anniversary of the initial award of a
  TEXAS grant to the person if the person is enrolled in a degree or
  certificate program of four years or less; or
               (2)  the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a
  TEXAS grant to the person if the person is enrolled in a degree or
  certificate program of more than four years.
         (f)  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:
               (1)  severe illness or other debilitating condition
  experienced by the person; or
               (2)  responsibility of the person for the care of a
  sick, injured, or needy person.
         (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 while enrolled in a number of
  semester credit hours that is less than the number required by
  Subsection (a)(5).  The coordinating board may not allow a person to
  receive a TEXAS grant while enrolled in fewer than 150 semester
  credit hours or the equivalent.
         Sec. 56.3042.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON ON TRACK TO
  MEET MERIT REQUIREMENTS [COMPLETE RECOMMENDED OR ADVANCED
  CURRICULUM].  (a)  If at the time an eligible institution awards
  TEXAS grants to initial recipients for an academic year an
  applicant has not completed high school or the applicant's final
  high school transcript is not yet available to the institution, the
  student is considered to have satisfied the eligibility
  requirements of Section 56.304(a)(2)(A) or 56.3041(a)(2)(A) if the
  student's available high school transcript indicates that at the
  time the transcript was prepared the student was on schedule to
  graduate from high school and to meet the eligibility requirements 
  [complete the recommended or advanced high school curriculum or its
  equivalent], as applicable to the student, in time to be eligible
  for a TEXAS grant for the academic year.
         (b)  The coordinating board or the eligible institution may
  require the student to forgo or repay the amount of an initial TEXAS
  grant awarded to the student as described by Subsection (a) if the
  student fails to meet the eligibility requirements of Section
  56.3041(a)(2)(A) [complete the recommended or advanced high school
  curriculum or its equivalent] after the issuance of the available
  high school transcript.
         (c)  A person who is required to forgo or repay the amount of
  an initial TEXAS grant under Subsection (b) may become eligible to
  receive an initial TEXAS grant under Section 56.304 or 56.3041 by
  satisfying the associate degree requirement prescribed by Section
  56.304(a)(2)(B) or 56.3041(a)(2)(B) and the other applicable
  requirements of the [that] section applicable to the person at the
  time the person reapplies for the grant.
         (d)  A person who receives an initial TEXAS grant under
  Subsection (a) and is not required to forgo or repay the amount of
  the grant under Subsection (b) may become eligible to receive a
  subsequent TEXAS grant under Section 56.305 only by satisfying the
  associate degree requirement prescribed by Section 56.304(a)(2)(B)
  or 56.3041(a)(2)(B), as applicable to the person, in addition to
  the requirements of Section 56.305 at the time the person applies
  for the subsequent grant.
         SECTION 3.  Section 56.307, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
         (m)  A person who graduated from high school on or after June
  1, 2010, and completed the advanced high school program established
  under Section 28.025 or its equivalent is eligible to receive an
  additional $1,000 during the first academic year in which the
  person receives a TEXAS grant.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 56.312 to read as follows:
         Sec. 56.312.  APPLICATION OF MERIT CRITERIA. The
  coordinating board by rule shall adopt policies to ensure that
  applying the eligibility requirements of Section 56.3041(a)(2)(A)
  does not disproportionately affect a particular category of
  students.
         SECTION 5.  (a) Sections 1 through 4 of this Act take effect
  only if:
               (1)  not later than September 1, 2009, a total of at
  least $91 million is appropriated by the legislature to the Texas
  Education Opportunity Grant Program under Subchapter P, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, for use in the 2009-2010 academic year; and
               (2)  not later than September 1, 2009, a sufficient
  amount of money is appropriated by the legislature for the TOWARD
  EXCELLENCE, ACCESS, & SUCCESS (TEXAS) grant program under
  Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, for use in the 2009-2010
  academic year to award grants to at least the same number of
  students who were awarded TEXAS grants for the 2007-2008 academic
  year.
         (b)  Not later than September 10, 2009, the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board shall certify whether the amounts
  described by Subsection (a) of this section were appropriated as
  provided by that subsection.
         SECTION 6.  (a)  Except as provided by Section 5 of this Act,
  Sections 1 through 4 of this Act take effect January 1, 2010.
         (b)  This section and Section 5 of this Act take effect
  September 1, 2009.