By: West S.B. No. 902
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the Texas Leadership Scholars
  Program to serve as a merit-based scholarship and leadership
  opportunity for high-achieving, emerging leaders with financial
  need.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter N to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER N. TEXAS LEADERSHIP SCHOLARS PROGRAM
         Sec. 61.751.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program"
  means the Texas Leadership Scholars Program established under this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.752.  INITIATIVE: ESTABLISHMENT; ADMINISTRATION;
  PURPOSE.
         (a)  The Texas Leadership Scholars Program is established.
         (b)  The board shall establish and administer, using funds
  appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, scholarships
  for high-achieving, low-income students, and academic achievement
  support and leadership development for student awarded program
  scholarships.
         (c)  To qualify for a scholarship under this section, a
  student must:
               (1)  be eligible for automatic admission in a general
  academic teaching institution pursuant to Section 51.803 or be
  nominated by their school district and have achieved another
  academic distinction recognized by the Board; and 
               (2)  be considered economically disadvantaged as
  determined by board rule; and 
               (3)  maintain a minimum overall grade point average at
  a general academic teaching institution as determined by board
  rule.
         (d)  The board may enter into agreements with general
  academic teaching institutions or other agencies of higher
  education to provide students in the program with research-based
  support to make satisfactory academic progress, graduate on-time
  and engage in leadership development opportunities, including but
  not limited to program cohort learning communities, mentoring,
  research and internship opportunities, networking with state
  government, business, and civic leaders, and statewide cohort
  learning institutes or seminars.
         Sec. 61.753.  GRANTS, GIFTS, AND DONATIONS. The board may
  solicit, accept, and spend grants, gifts, and donations from any
  public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.754.  RULES. The board shall adopt rules for the
  administration of this subchapter, including rules providing for
  the determination of scholarship amount, student scholarship
  eligibility, satisfactory academic progress criteria, and program
  administration.
         SECTION 2.  (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
  Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter N, Chapter 61,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
  the effective date of this Act.
         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.