By: Seliger  S.B. No. 885
         (In the Senate - Filed February 14, 2017; February 28, 2017,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
  May 1, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 1, 2017,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 885 By:  Seliger
 
 
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.
 
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