| |
| |
|
|
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. |