Bill Text: TX HB494 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the institutions of higher education eligible to participate in the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-16 - Referred to Higher Education [HB494 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB494-Introduced.html

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84R1943 AAF-F
By: Hernandez Luna H.B. No. 494

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the institutions of higher education eligible to
participate in the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.9792, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.9792. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. The board shall
establish and administer, in accordance with this subchapter and
board rules, the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program under which the
board provides a grant to an eligible institution for the purpose of
providing a scholarship to a student who meets the eligibility
criteria prescribed by Section 61.9793.
SECTION 2. Section 61.9794, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.9794. ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION. (a) To qualify as an
eligible institution under this subchapter, an institution must:
(1) be one of the following:
(A) a public junior college, public junior
college district, or public technical institute that admits[;
[(2) admit] at least 50 students into a STEM program
each academic year; or
(B) a general academic teaching institution that
admits into a STEM program each academic year eligible students
who:
(i) previously participated in a T-STEM
Challenge Scholarship program at a public junior college or public
technical institute; and
(ii) completed at least 45 semester credit
hours at the college or institute before enrolling in the general
academic teaching institution; and
(2) [(3)] develop partnerships with business and
industry to:
(A) identify local employment needs in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields; and
(B) provide part-time employment for students
enrolled in a STEM program.
(b) To maintain eligibility, beginning with the second year
following implementation of a scholarship program under this
subchapter, an institution must demonstrate to the board that at
least 70 percent of the institution's T-STEM Challenge Scholarship
graduates, within six [three] months after graduation, are:
(1) employed by a business in a Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field; or
(2) enrolled in upper-division courses leading to a
baccalaureate degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) field.
SECTION 3. Section 61.9795, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.9795. AMOUNT; FUNDING. (a) Subject to available
funding, the board shall award a grant to an eligible institution
for the purpose of providing scholarships, with at least 50 percent
of the amount awarded from private funds.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [An] eligible
student may receive a scholarship awarded under this subchapter for
not more than two academic years.
(b-1) A student who previously participated in the T-STEM
Challenge Scholarship program at a public junior college or public
technical institute and completed at least 45 semester credit hours
at the college or institute, who then enrolls in a general academic
teaching institution, may receive a scholarship awarded under this
subchapter for two additional academic years. The student must
meet the eligibility requirements established under Section
61.9793.
(c) The board may use any available revenue, including
legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept gifts and
grants for purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 4. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall award scholarships under Subchapter GG, Chapter 61, Education
Code, as amended by this Act, beginning with the 2015-2016 academic
year. The coordinating board shall adopt the rules required by that
subchapter as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.