86R5380 KJE-D
 
  By: Cortez H.B. No. 998
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Scholarship
  Program for certain students at participating two-year public
  institutions of higher education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter T to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 56.521.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "Eligible institution" means a public junior
  college, public technical institute, or public state college, as
  those terms are defined by Section 61.003.
               (3)  "Participating institution" means an eligible
  institution that elects to participate in the program under Section
  56.524.
               (4)  "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
  Program established under this subchapter.
         Sec. 56.522.  PROGRAM. The Texas Promise Scholarship
  Program is an optional program under which participating two-year
  institutions of higher education may provide assistance in the
  payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students
  to attend those institutions.
         Sec. 56.523.  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. The coordinating
  board shall administer the program and adopt any rules necessary to
  implement the program or this subchapter. The coordinating board
  shall consult with the student financial aid officers of eligible
  institutions in developing the rules.
         Sec. 56.524.  ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE; AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.  
  (a)  An eligible institution may elect to participate in the program
  by notifying the coordinating board of the institution's election.
         (b)  From money available for the purpose, each
  participating institution shall award scholarships to eligible
  students under the program.  In determining who should receive a
  scholarship under the program, the institution may give priority to
  awarding scholarships to students in any major or certificate or
  degree program designated by the institution.
         Sec. 56.525.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
  be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
  must:
               (1)  be a resident of this state as determined by
  coordinating board rules;
               (2)  meet financial need requirements as defined by the
  coordinating board;
               (3)  be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
  program at a participating institution;
               (4)  be enrolled as an entering student for at least
  one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
  associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
  coordinating board;
               (5)  have applied for any available financial aid or
  assistance; and
               (6)  comply with any additional nonacademic
  requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
  subchapter.
         (b)  A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
  the program 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 the program and
  has:
               (1)  received a certificate of discharge by 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 or 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 scholarship under the
  program.
         (c)  A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
  the program if the person has been granted an associate or
  baccalaureate degree.
         (d)  A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
  for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
         (e)  A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
  program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
  scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
  enrollment in a participating institution.
         Sec. 56.526.  CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
  PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
  scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
  scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
  the person is enrolled at a participating institution only if the
  person:
               (1)  meets financial need requirements as defined by
  the coordinating board;
               (2)  is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
  program at a participating institution;
               (3)  is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
  load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
  determined by the coordinating board;
               (4)  makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
  associate degree or certificate; and
               (5)  complies with any additional nonacademic
  requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
         (b)  A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
  scholarship under this section 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 the program and has:
               (1)  received a certificate of discharge by 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 or 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 scholarship under the
  program.
         (c)  If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
  Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
  person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
  next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
  become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
  subsequent semester or term if the person:
               (1)  completes a semester or term during which the
  student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
               (2)  meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
         (d)  For the purpose of this section, a person makes
  satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
  certificate only if:
               (1)  in the person's first academic year, the person
  meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
  institution at which the person is enrolled; and
               (2)  in the subsequent academic year, the person:
                     (A)  completes at least 75 percent of the semester
  credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
  and
                     (B)  has earned an overall grade point average of
  at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
  previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
         (e)  A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
  the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
  if the person enrolls in or transfers to another participating
  institution.
         (f)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
  person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
  program, 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 scholarship under the
  program:
               (1)  while enrolled in a number of semester credit
  hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
  under Subsection (a)(3); or
               (2)  if the student's grade point average or completion
  rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
  Subsection (d).
         Sec. 56.527.  SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded by a
  participating institution under the program may be applied only to
  the payment of tuition and mandatory fees at the institution.
         Sec. 56.528.  SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
  scholarship awarded by a participating institution to an eligible
  student under the program for a semester or other academic term in
  which the student is enrolled at the institution may not exceed the
  difference between the amount of tuition and mandatory fees charged
  to the student by the institution for that semester or term and the
  amount of any other gift aid, including state or federal grants or
  scholarships, awarded to the student for that semester or term.
         (b)  A scholarship may not be awarded under the program to an
  eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
  other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
  the student and the student's unmet financial need has been
  established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
  the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
         Sec. 56.529.  NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
  SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a)  The coordinating board, in consultation
  with all participating institutions, shall prepare materials
  designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
  school counselors about the program, the institutions
  participating in the program, and eligibility for a scholarship
  under the program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each
  eligible institution and to each school district a copy of the
  materials prepared under this section.
         (b)  Each school district shall notify its high school
  students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
  students' parents or guardians of the program, the institutions
  participating in the program, and the eligibility requirements of
  the program.
         Sec. 56.530.  GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS.  In addition to
  other money appropriated by the legislature, each participating
  institution may solicit, accept, and spend gifts, grants, and
  donations from any public or private source for the purposes of the
  program.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
  Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
  the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  Each two-year public institution of higher education
  that elects to participate in the Texas Promise Scholarship Program
  established under Subchapter T, Chapter 56, Education Code, as
  added by this Act, shall begin awarding scholarships under that
  subchapter for the first academic year for which money is available
  for that purpose, except that an institution may not award
  scholarships under that subchapter for an academic year before the
  2020-2021 academic year.
         SECTION 3.  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, 2019.