By: Raney H.B. No. 5148
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with
  Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain students at 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 U to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 56.541.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "Program" means the Texas Students with
  Disabilities Scholarship Program established under this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 56.542.  PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
  Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program is to provide
  assistance in the payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable
  eligible students to attend institutions of higher education.
         Sec. 56.543.  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF
  SCHOLARSHIP. (a) 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 institutions of higher education
  and a representative from at least one of the University Centers for
  Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in this state in
  developing the rules.
         (b)  The coordinating board shall award a scholarship to each
  eligible student under the program, as provided by Section 56.547.
         (c)  The coordinating board by rule shall develop a
  disability affidavit form that may be used to establish that a
  student has a disability for purposes of Section 56.544(a)(6) based
  on a diagnosis by a licensed physician or other documentation
  determined appropriate by the coordinating board. In developing
  the disability affidavit form in a manner that ensures the form
  properly verifies that a person has a disability, the coordinating
  board shall consult with:
               (1)  at least one University Centers for Excellence in
  Developmental Disabilities program in this state; or
               (2)  a statewide, cross-disability advocacy
  organization.
         (d)  The coordinating board may use any available revenue,
  including legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept
  gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for
  the purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 56.544.  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)  be enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
  degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
  education;
               (3)  be enrolled as an entering student for at least
  one-quarter of a full course load for an entering student in the
  associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
  determined by the coordinating board;
               (4)  have applied for any available financial aid or
  assistance;
               (5)  comply with any additional nonacademic or
  nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
  this subchapter; and
               (6)  establish that the person has a disability by:
                     (A)  providing proof that the person:
                           (i)  is a person with a disability as defined
  by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102;
                           (ii)  receives Supplemental Security Income
  (SSI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq. on the basis of
  disability or blindness;
                           (iii)  receives Social Security Disability
  Insurance (SSDI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; or
                           (iv)  qualifies for or is receiving
  vocational rehabilitation services provided through the Texas
  Workforce Commission; or
                     (B)  if the student is unable to provide proof in
  accordance with Paragraph (A), completing a disability affidavit
  form developed in accordance with Section 56.543(c).
         (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 (Texas Controlled
  Substances Act), 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 completed more than the following
  number of semester credit hours or the equivalent at an institution
  of higher education, excluding semester credit hours or the
  equivalent earned for a dual credit course:
               (1)  90 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the
  person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years
  or less; or
               (2)  135 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if
  the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more
  than two years.
         (d)  A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
  for more than:
               (1)  75 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the
  person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years
  or less; or
               (2)  150 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if
  the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more
  than two years.
         (e)  A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
  program ends on:
               (1)  the fourth anniversary of the initial award of a
  scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
  enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years or less;
               (2)  the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a
  scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
  enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more than two years
  but not more than four years; or
               (3)  the eighth anniversary of the initial award of a
  scholarship under the program to the person, if the person is
  enrolled in a degree or certificate program of more than four years.
         Sec. 56.545.  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 an institution of higher education only if
  the person:
               (1)  is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
  degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
  education;
               (2)  is enrolled for at least one-quarter of a full
  course load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree or
  certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;
               (3)  makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
  associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate; and
               (4)  complies with any additional nonacademic or
  nonfinancial 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
  (Texas Controlled Substances Act), 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 this subchapter 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
  person 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 or
  baccalaureate 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
  completes at least 25 percent of the semester credit hours or the
  equivalent attempted in the person's most recent academic year.
         (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 institution of
  higher education.
         (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 a
  showing 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 or the
  equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
               (2)  if the person's completion rate falls below the
  satisfactory academic progress requirements of Subsection (d).
         Sec. 56.546.  SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
  the program must be applied first to the payment of tuition and
  mandatory fees at an institution of higher education.
         Sec. 56.547.  SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
  scholarship awarded to an eligible student under the program for a
  semester or other academic term in which the student is enrolled at
  an institution of higher education is an amount determined by the
  coordinating board under Subsection (b) based on the amount of
  funds available for distribution and the number of eligible
  applicants.
         (b)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules and procedures
  for determining the amount of the scholarship for each academic
  year or during an academic year as necessary to respond to
  fluctuations in the amount of funds available for distribution.
         (c)  The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
  coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
  semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
  enrolled, the amount of a scholarship award to a student who is
  enrolled in less than a full course load for a student in an
  associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
  determined by the coordinating board.
         (d)  The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
  student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
  awarded to the student.
         Sec. 56.548.  NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
  SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
  with all institutions of higher education, shall prepare materials
  designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
  school counselors about the program and eligibility for a
  scholarship under the program. The coordinating board shall
  distribute to each institution of higher education 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 and the eligibility
  requirements of the program.
         SECTION 2.  (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
  Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
  the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
  for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
  coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
  for an academic year before the 2024-2025 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, 2023.