|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the maximum number of semester credit hours allowed for |
|
and funding sources used to supplement a TEXAS grant and to the |
|
removal of obsolete references related to the Teach for Texas grant |
|
program. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is |
|
amended by adding Section 56.3051 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 56.3051. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS. A |
|
person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than the lesser of: |
|
(1) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent; or |
|
(2) 15 semester credit hours, or the equivalent, in |
|
addition to the number of credit hours needed to complete the |
|
student's degree program. |
|
SECTION 2. Section 56.307, Education Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsection (j) to read as follows: |
|
(j) A public institution of higher education shall use other |
|
available sources of financial aid, other than a loan or work study, |
|
to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS grant awarded to |
|
the student and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at |
|
the institution if the difference results from: |
|
(1) a reduction in the amount of a TEXAS grant under |
|
Subsection (i-1); or |
|
(2) a deficiency in the amount of the grant as |
|
established under Subsection (a) or (e), as applicable, to cover |
|
the full amount of tuition and required fees charged to the student |
|
by the institution. |
|
SECTION 3. Section 56.308(b), Education Code, is amended to |
|
read as follows: |
|
(b) Each school district shall: |
|
(1) notify its middle school students, junior high |
|
school students, and high school students, those students' teachers |
|
and school counselors, and those students' parents of the TEXAS |
|
grant program [and Teach for Texas grant programs], the eligibility |
|
requirements of the [each] program, the need for students to make |
|
informed curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high |
|
school, and sources of information on higher education admissions |
|
and financial aid in a manner that assists the district in |
|
implementing a strategy adopted by the district under Section |
|
11.252(a)(4); and |
|
(2) ensure that each student's official transcript or |
|
diploma indicates whether the student has completed or is on |
|
schedule to complete: |
|
(A) the recommended or advanced high school |
|
curriculum required for grant eligibility under Section 28.002 or |
|
28.025; or |
|
(B) for a school district covered by Section |
|
56.304(f)(1), the required portion of the recommended or advanced |
|
high school curriculum in the manner described by Section |
|
56.304(f)(2). |
|
SECTION 4. Sections 56.311(a), (b), (c), (c-1), (e), and |
|
(g), Education Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|
(a) The Legislative Oversight Committee on the TEXAS grant |
|
program [and Teach for Texas grant program] is composed of six |
|
members as follows: |
|
(1) three members of the senate appointed by the |
|
lieutenant governor; and |
|
(2) three members of the house of representatives |
|
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. |
|
(b) The committee shall: |
|
(1) meet at least twice a year with the coordinating |
|
board; and |
|
(2) receive information regarding rules relating to |
|
the TEXAS grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] that |
|
have been adopted by the coordinating board or proposed for |
|
adoption by the coordinating board. |
|
(c) The committee may request reports and other information |
|
from the coordinating board relating to the operation of the TEXAS |
|
grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] by the |
|
coordinating board. |
|
(c-1) The [Not later than September 1 of each year, the] |
|
coordinating board shall include in its annual report to the |
|
legislature on financial aid in this state [provide] a report to the |
|
committee regarding the operation of the TEXAS grant program, |
|
including information from the three preceding state fiscal years |
|
as follows: |
|
(1) allocations of TEXAS grants by eligible |
|
institution, disaggregated by initial and subsequent awards; |
|
(2) the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students |
|
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and expected family |
|
contribution; |
|
(3) disaggregated as required by Subdivision (2) and |
|
reported both on a statewide basis and for each eligible |
|
institution, the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students who |
|
meet: |
|
(A) only the eligibility criteria described by |
|
Section 56.304; or |
|
(B) the eligibility criteria described by |
|
Section 56.3041(2)(A); and |
|
(4) the persistence, retention, and graduation rates |
|
of students receiving TEXAS grants. |
|
(e) The committee shall monitor the operation of the TEXAS |
|
grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program], with emphasis on |
|
the manner of the award of grants, the number of grants awarded, and |
|
the educational progress made by persons who have received grants |
|
under the program [those programs]. |
|
(g) The report shall include identification of any problems |
|
in the TEXAS grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] with |
|
recommended solutions for the coordinating board and for |
|
legislative action. |
|
SECTION 5. Section 56.304(d), Education Code, is repealed. |
|
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply |
|
beginning with initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for the |
|
2018 fall semester. Initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for |
|
a semester or term before the 2018 fall semester are governed by the |
|
applicable law in effect immediately before the effective date of |
|
this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
|
purpose. |
|
SECTION 7. 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, 2017. |
|
|
|
* * * * * |