Bill Text: TX HB5148 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain students at public institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-18 - Reported from s/c with no recommendation [HB5148 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB5148-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain students at public institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-18 - Reported from s/c with no recommendation [HB5148 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB5148-Introduced.html
By: Raney | H.B. No. 5148 |
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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. |