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.