84R1943 AAF-F
 
  By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 43
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the institutions of higher education eligible to
  participate in the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and
  Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 61.9792, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 61.9792.  SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.  The board shall
  establish and administer, in accordance with this subchapter and
  board rules, the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and
  Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program under which the
  board provides a grant to an eligible institution for the purpose of
  providing a scholarship to a student who meets the eligibility
  criteria prescribed by Section 61.9793.
         SECTION 2.  Section 61.9794, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 61.9794.  ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION. (a)  To qualify as an
  eligible institution under this subchapter, an institution must:
               (1)  be one of the following:
                     (A)  a public junior college, public junior
  college district, or public technical institute that admits[;
               [(2)  admit] at least 50 students into a STEM program
  each academic year; or
                     (B)  a general academic teaching institution that
  admits into a STEM program each academic year eligible students
  who:
                           (i)  previously participated in a T-STEM
  Challenge Scholarship program at a public junior college or public
  technical institute; and
                           (ii)  completed at least 45 semester credit
  hours at the college or institute before enrolling in the general
  academic teaching institution; and
               (2) [(3)]  develop partnerships with business and
  industry to:
                     (A)  identify local employment needs in Science,
  Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields; and
                     (B)  provide part-time employment for students
  enrolled in a STEM program.
         (b)  To maintain eligibility, beginning with the second year
  following implementation of a scholarship program under this
  subchapter, an institution must demonstrate to the board that at
  least 70 percent of the institution's T-STEM Challenge Scholarship
  graduates, within six [three] months after graduation, are:
               (1)  employed by a business in a Science, Technology,
  Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field; or
               (2)  enrolled in upper-division courses leading to a
  baccalaureate degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and
  Mathematics (STEM) field.
         SECTION 3.  Section 61.9795, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 61.9795.  AMOUNT; FUNDING. (a)  Subject to available
  funding, the board shall award a grant to an eligible institution
  for the purpose of providing scholarships, with at least 50 percent
  of the amount awarded from private funds.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [An] eligible
  student may receive a scholarship awarded under this subchapter for
  not more than two academic years.
         (b-1)  A student who previously participated in the T-STEM
  Challenge Scholarship program at a public junior college or public
  technical institute and completed at least 45 semester credit hours
  at the college or institute, who then enrolls in a general academic
  teaching institution, may receive a scholarship awarded under this
  subchapter for two additional academic years.  The student must
  meet the eligibility requirements established under Section
  61.9793.
         (c)  The board may use any available revenue, including
  legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept gifts and
  grants for purposes of this subchapter.
         SECTION 4.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall award scholarships under Subchapter GG, Chapter 61, Education
  Code, as amended by this Act, beginning with the 2015-2016 academic
  year. The coordinating board shall adopt the rules required by that
  subchapter as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.