By: Creighton S.B. No. 1888
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of certain programs to facilitate
  early high school graduation and enrollment at public institutions
  of higher education and to the repeal of the Early High School
  Graduation Scholarship program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 28.0253, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 28.0253.  TEXAS FIRST EARLY HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION
  [PILOT] PROGRAM[:  HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS FOR STUDENTS WHO
  DEMONSTRATE EARLY READINESS FOR COLLEGE].  (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "Eligible institution" means an institution of
  higher education that is designated as a research university or
  emerging research university under the coordinating board's
  accountability system.
               (3)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 61.003.
               (4)  "Program" means the Texas First Early High School
  Completion Program established under this section.
               [(2)  "Research university" means an institution of
  higher education that is designated as a research university under
  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's accountability
  system.]
         (b)  The agency, in coordination with the coordinating
  board, shall establish the Texas First Early High School Completion
  Program to allow public high school students who demonstrate early
  readiness for college to graduate early from high school. The
  purpose of the program, in conjunction with the Texas First
  Scholarship Program established under Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56,
  is to promote efficiency in the state public education system and
  incentivize the enrollment of high performing students at eligible
  institutions.
         (c)  The coordinating board, in consultation with the agency
  and eligible institutions, [A research university that chooses to
  participate in the pilot program] shall by rule establish[:
               [(1)  not later than September 1 of each year, make
  available on the university's Internet website detailed] standards
  for use in the program regarding:
               (1) [(A)]  the specific competencies that demonstrate
  a student's mastery of each subject area for which the coordinating
  board [Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board] and the
  commissioner have adopted college readiness standards;
               (2) [(B)]  the specific competencies that demonstrate
  a student's mastery of a language other than English; and
               (3) [(C)]  acceptable assessments or other means by
  which a student may demonstrate the student's early readiness for
  college with respect to each subject area and the language
  described by Subdivision (2) [this subdivision], subject to
  Subsection (d) [(c);
               [(2)  partner with at least 10 school districts that
  reflect the geographic diversity of this state and the student
  compositions of which reflect the socioeconomic diversity of this
  state; and
               [(3)  assist school administrators, school counselors,
  and other educators in each of those school districts in designing
  the specific requirements of and implementing the program in the
  district].
         (d) [(c)]  The assessments or other means the coordinating
  board establishes [filed by a research university] under Subsection
  (c)(3) [(b)(1)(C)] must be equivalent to the assessments or other
  means eligible institutions commonly use [the university uses] to
  place students at the institutions [university] in courses that may
  be credited toward a degree requirement.
         (e) [(d)]  A [research university that partners with a]
  school district or open-enrollment charter school [under this
  section shall enter into an agreement with the district under which
  the university and district agree that the district will assess a
  student's mastery of the subject areas described by Subsection
  (b)(1) and a language other than English in accordance with the
  standards the university filed under Subsection (b)(1). The
  district] may issue a high school diploma to a student under the
  program if, using the standards established under Subsection (c),
  the student demonstrates mastery of and early readiness for college
  in each of the [those] subject areas described by that subsection
  and in a language other than English, notwithstanding any other
  local or state requirements.
         (f) [(e)]  A student who earns [receives] a high school
  diploma through the [pilot] program is considered to have earned a
  distinguished level of achievement under the foundation high school
  program adopted under Section 28.025. The student is not
  guaranteed admission to any institution of higher education or to
  any academic program at an institution of higher education solely
  on the basis of having received the diploma through the program.
  The student may apply for admission to an institution of higher
  education for the first semester or other academic term after the
  semester or other academic term in which the student earns a diploma
  through the [pilot] program.
         (g)  On a student's initial enrollment in high school in a
  grade level below grade 12 in a school district or open-enrollment
  charter school, the district or school shall provide to the student
  and the student's parent or guardian information regarding:
               (1)  the requirements to earn a high school diploma
  under the program; and
               (2)  the Texas First Scholarship Program established
  under Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56.
         (h)  The agency and the coordinating board shall jointly
  prepare and post on their respective Internet websites a
  publication that includes the information required to be provided
  under Subsection (g) in a form that enables a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school to reproduce the publication for
  distribution under that subsection.
         [(f)  A research university that participates in the pilot
  program shall enter into an agreement with an education research
  center established under Section 1.005 to conduct an evaluation of
  the program with respect to that university and the school
  districts with which the university partners. Not later than
  January 1, 2013, the education research center shall provide a
  written report of the evaluation to the commissioner and the
  commissioner of higher education and make the report available on
  the center's Internet website. The report may include an analysis
  of the effects of the program on the university's admissions review
  process.]
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 48.2642 to read as follows:
         Sec. 48.2642.  ADJUSTMENTS FOR TEXAS FIRST EARLY HIGH SCHOOL
  COMPLETION PROGRAM GRADUATES. (a) Notwithstanding any other
  provision of this chapter, the commissioner shall count toward a
  school district's or open-enrollment charter school's average daily
  attendance under Section 48.005 each student who graduates early
  from high school in the district or school under the Texas First
  Early High School Completion Program established under Section
  28.0253 for the period in which the student is enrolled at an
  eligible institution using state credit awarded under the Texas
  First Scholarship Program established under Subchapter K-1,
  Chapter 56, based on a 100 percent attendance rate.
         (b)  As soon as practicable after receipt of the report under
  Section 56.226, the commissioner shall reduce the amount of a
  school district's or open-enrollment charter school's entitlement
  under this chapter for the school year by an amount equal to the
  total amount of state credit issued during the preceding school
  year to the district's or school's high school graduates under the
  Texas First Scholarship Program established under Subchapter K-1,
  Chapter 56.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter K-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER K-1. TEXAS FIRST SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 56.221.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "Eligible institution" means an institution of
  higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, that is
  designated as a research university or emerging research university
  under the coordinating board's accountability system.
               (3)  "Program" means the Texas First Scholarship
  Program.
         Sec. 56.222.  PURPOSE. The purpose of the program, in
  conjunction with the Texas Early High School Completion Program
  established under Section 28.0253, is to promote efficiency in the
  state public education system and incentivize the enrollment of
  high performing students at eligible institutions.
         Sec. 56.223.  ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible for an award under
  the program, a student must:
               (1)  be a resident of this state as determined by
  coordinating board rules;
               (2)  have graduated early from high school under the
  Texas First Early High School Completion Program established under
  Section 28.0253; and
               (3)  comply with Section 28.0256.
         Sec. 56.224.  ENTITLEMENT; CALCULATION OF AID; EXPIRATION.
  (a) The coordinating board shall award to each eligible student
  state credit in an amount equal to:
               (1)  for a student who graduated from high school two or
  more semesters or the equivalent earlier than the student's high
  school cohort, the maximum annual TEXAS grant award determined by
  the coordinating board for the applicable academic year under
  Section 56.307; or
               (2)  for a student who graduated from high school less
  than two semesters or the equivalent earlier than the student's
  high school cohort, half of the amount described by Subdivision
  (1).
         (b)  The amount of state credit awarded to a student under
  the program may not be considered in the calculation of any state or
  institutional need-based aid awards or the calculation of the
  student's overall financial need, unless the combination of the
  credit and other federal, state, and institutional financial aid
  for which the student would otherwise be eligible exceeds the
  estimated total cost of attendance at the eligible institution at
  which the student is enrolled.
         (c)  The coordinating board shall issue to the student a
  certificate indicating the amount of the state credit awarded under
  this section.
         (d)  State credit awarded to a student under this section
  expires at the end of the first academic year following the
  student's graduation from high school.
         Sec. 56.225.  APPLICATION OF SCHOLARSHIP. On enrollment of
  an eligible student at an eligible institution, the institution
  shall apply to the student's charges for tuition, mandatory fees,
  and other costs of attendance for the enrollment period an amount
  equal to the lesser of:
               (1)  the amount of the state credit awarded to the
  student under Section 56.224; or
               (2)  the student's actual tuition, mandatory fees, and
  other costs of attendance at the institution.
         Sec. 56.226.  PAYMENT OF STATE CREDIT. (a) At least once
  each year, the coordinating board shall submit to the commissioner
  of education a report on state credit awarded under the program
  during the preceding academic year. The report must include:
               (1)  the name of each student who used the state credit
  during that academic year;
               (2)  the school district or open-enrollment charter
  school from which each student graduated from high school; and
               (3)  the amount of the state credit used by each student
  during that academic year.
         (b)  As soon as practicable after receipt of the report under
  Subsection (a), the commissioner of education shall transfer to the
  coordinating board an amount of funds equal to the total amount by
  which school district and open-enrollment charter school
  entitlements are reduced under Section 48.2642(b).
         (c)  As soon as practicable after receipt of funds
  transferred under Subsection (b), the coordinating board shall
  distribute to each eligible institution an amount of funds equal to
  the amount of state credit applied by the institution under Section
  56.225 during the preceding academic year.
         Sec. 56.227.  RULES. The coordinating board may adopt rules
  necessary to implement this subchapter.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter K, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 5.  (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act:
               (1)  the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board shall take all actions necessary to
  implement the Texas First Early High School Completion Program
  established under Section 28.0253, Education Code, as amended by
  this Act; and
               (2)  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2021-2022
  academic year.
         SECTION 6.  The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board are required to implement this Act
  only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
  purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money
  specifically for that purpose, the agency and the coordinating
  board may, but are not required to, implement this Act using other
  appropriations available 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, 2021.