87R1725 JRJ-D

By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 176

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the award of a grant under the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant Program to certain students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 56.402(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of money to enable eligible students to attend eligible [two-year public] institutions [of higher education] in this state.

SECTION 2. Sections 56.404(a), (c), and (f), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) To be eligible initially for a grant under the grant 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 or baccalaureate degree program or a certificate program at an eligible 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 or baccalaureate degree program 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.

(c) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under this subchapter if the person has been granted:

(1) an associate degree, if the person is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate program; or

(2) a baccalaureate degree.

(f) A person's eligibility for a grant under this subchapter ends on:

(1) the fourth anniversary of the initial award of a grant under this subchapter to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution, if the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years or less; or

(2) the fifth anniversary of the initial award of a grant under this subchapter to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution, if the person is enrolled in a degree program of more than two years.

SECTION 3. Sections 56.405(a) and (d), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) After initially qualifying for a grant under this subchapter, a person may continue to receive a grant under this subchapter during each semester or term in which the person is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:

(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by the coordinating board;

(2) is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate degree program or certificate program at an eligible institution;

(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree program or certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;

(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an associate or baccalaureate degree or a certificate; and

(5) complies with any additional nonacademic requirement adopted by the coordinating board.

(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes satisfactory academic progress toward an associate or baccalaureate degree or a 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 a 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.

SECTION 4. Subchapter P, Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 56.4051 to read as follows:

Sec. 56.4051. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS. (a) A person who is enrolled in an associate degree program or certificate program at an eligible institution may not receive a grant under this subchapter for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.

(b) A person who is enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at an eligible institution may not receive a grant under this subchapter for more than the greater 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 person's baccalaureate degree program.

SECTION 5. Section 56.407(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The amount of a grant under this subchapter for a student enrolled full-time at an eligible institution is the amount determined by the coordinating board as the average statewide amount of tuition and required fees that [a resident student enrolled full-time in an associate degree or certificate program] would be charged for that semester or term at eligible institutions to a resident student enrolled full-time in:

(1) an associate degree program or a certificate program, if the student receiving the grant is enrolled in an associate degree program or a certificate program; or

(2) a baccalaureate degree program, if the student receiving the grant is enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program.

SECTION 6. Section 56.404(d), Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 7. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules to administer the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant Program consistent with the changes made by this Act to Subchapter P, Chapter 56, Education Code, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act.

(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Subchapter P, Chapter 56, Education Code, apply beginning with initial or subsequent grants awarded for the 2022 fall semester. Initial or subsequent grants awarded for a semester or term before the 2022 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 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.