By: West	S.B. No. 1467

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the Texas college work-study program and to
	establishing a program for the off-campus employment of certain
	students at public or private institutions of higher education.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 56.076(a), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  An eligible institution may employ eligible students
	[enter into agreements with employers that participate] in the
	work-study program.  To be eligible to participate in the
	work-study program, an eligible institution [employer] must:
	(1)  provide part-time employment to an eligible
	student in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities;
	(2)  provide, insofar as is practicable, employment to
	an eligible student that is related to the student's academic
	interests;
	(3)  use Texas college work-study program positions
	only to supplement and not to supplant positions normally filled by
	persons not eligible to participate in the work-study program;
	(4)  provide from sources other than federal college
	work-study program funds a percentage of an employed student's
	wages that is equal to the percentage of a student's wages that the
	eligible institution [employer] would be required to provide to the
	student in that academic year under the federal college work-study
	program; and
	(5)  provide from sources other than federal college
	work-study funds 100 percent of other employee benefits for the
	employed student.
	SECTION 2.  Section 56.078, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 56.078.  FUNDING. Funding to cover the state's
	contribution toward the funding of the work-study program under
	this subchapter and the Texas WORKS internship program under
	Subchapter E-1 is payable from funds appropriated for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  Section 56.082(a), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
	Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall submit to the
	standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over
	higher education and post on the coordinating board's Internet
	website a report on the Texas college work-study program and the
	Texas WORKS internship program.  The report must include the total
	number of students employed through the programs [program],
	disaggregated by:
	(1)  the employment position's location on or off
	campus; and
	(2)  the employer's status as a for-profit or nonprofit
	entity.
	SECTION 4.  Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
	Subchapter E-1 to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER E-1.  TEXAS WORKING OFF-CAMPUS:  REINFORCING KNOWLEDGE
	AND SKILLS (WORKS) INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
	Sec. 56.0851.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
	(1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
	Education Coordinating Board.
	(2)  "Eligible wages" means gross wages paid to an
	individual student, not to exceed the amount approved by the
	coordinating board.
	(3)  "Program" or "Texas WORKS internship program"
	means the Texas Working Off-Campus:  Reinforcing Knowledge and
	Skills (WORKS) Internship Program.
	Sec. 56.0852.  PROGRAM NAME. The student financial
	assistance program authorized by this subchapter shall be known as
	the Texas Working Off-Campus:  Reinforcing Knowledge and Skills
	(WORKS) Internship Program.
	Sec. 56.0853.  PURPOSE.  The purpose of this subchapter is to
	provide jobs funded in part by the State of Texas to eligible
	students with financial need to enable those students to attend
	eligible public or private institutions of higher education in
	Texas.
	Sec. 56.0854.  ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY. (a)  The
	coordinating board shall administer the program and collaborate
	with eligible institutions and employers to provide eligible
	students with part-time employment funded in part by the state.
	(b)  State support for the program may not exceed the amount
	specified by appropriation.
	(c)  The coordinating board shall establish criteria to
	ensure that:
	(1)  each eligible employer has demonstrated the
	administrative and financial capacity to carry out the employer's
	responsibilities under the program, including the ability to pay
	full wages and benefits to a student employed through the program;
	and
	(2)  a participating employer is reimbursed under the
	program at the rate established by the coordinating board only for
	fully paid eligible wages.
	(d)  The coordinating board shall develop a standard
	contract establishing the roles and responsibilities of eligible
	employers.  The coordinating board shall use the standard contract
	as a model for the memorandum of understanding that the
	coordinating board will require for participation in the program.
	(e)  The coordinating board shall reimburse an eligible
	employer at a rate established by the coordinating board for the
	eligible wages paid by the employer to a student participating in
	the program.
	(f)  The coordinating board shall establish the rate or rates
	at which employers are required to pay students participating in
	the program.
	(g)  The coordinating board may use funds appropriated for
	the Texas college work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship
	program to establish and maintain an online portal for use by
	students and participating entities in fulfilling their
	responsibilities for participation in the Texas WORKS internship
	program. The coordinating board may use funds appropriated for the
	Texas college work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship
	program to cover the expenses and personnel costs of administering
	and assessing this program.
	(h)  If funding for the program is insufficient to cover the
	cost of all eligible students, priority for funding is based on the
	order of application, as determined through coordinating board
	rules, as well as any additional priority eligibility criteria
	established by coordinating board rules.
	Sec. 56.0855.  ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION. For purposes of this
	subchapter, an eligible institution is:
	(1)  an institution of higher education, as defined by
	Section 61.003; or
	(2)  a private or independent institution of higher
	education, as defined by Section 61.003.
	Sec. 56.0856.  ELIGIBLE STUDENT.  (a)  To be eligible for
	employment in the program a person must:
	(1)  be a Texas resident as defined by coordinating
	board rules;
	(2)  be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate degree
	or certificate program;
	(3)  establish financial need in accordance with
	coordinating board procedures and rules established for the
	program;
	(4)  meet eligibility criteria established by the
	coordinating board;
	(5)  be eligible for federal financial aid, except that
	the person is not required to meet any financial aid need
	requirement applicable to a particular federal financial aid
	program; and
	(6)  comply with other requirements adopted by the
	coordinating board under this section.
	(b)  A person is not eligible to participate in the program
	if the person:
	(1)  is receiving an athletic scholarship;
	(2)  is enrolled in a seminary or other program leading
	to ordination or licensure to perform religious duties for a
	religious sect or to be a member of a religious order; or
	(3)  has completed a baccalaureate degree.
	(c)  The amount of a student's gross wage eligibility under
	the program is an amount determined by coordinating board rule, and
	funds received by students as eligible wages under the program are
	not considered as financial aid for the academic year in which they
	are earned.
	Sec. 56.0857.  ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER. (a)  The coordinating
	board may enter into agreements with employers that participate in
	the program.
	(b)  To be eligible to enter into an agreement with the
	coordinating board to participate in the program, an employer must:
	(1)  be a private nonprofit or for-profit entity or a
	governmental entity, other than an eligible institution or a career
	school or college as defined by Section 132.001;
	(2)  enter into a memorandum of understanding with the
	coordinating board;
	(3)  provide part-time employment to an eligible
	student in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities that relate to
	the student's long-term career interests;
	(4)  use program positions only to supplement and not
	to supplant positions normally filled by persons not eligible to
	participate in the program;
	(5)  provide the entirety of an employed student's
	wages and employee benefits;
	(6)  submit only eligible wages to the coordinating
	board for reimbursement;
	(7)  use a wage rate established by the coordinating
	board;
	(8)  meet eligibility criteria established by the
	coordinating board; and
	(9)  comply with other requirements adopted by the
	coordinating board under this section.
	Sec. 56.0858.  ADOPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RULES. (a)  The
	coordinating board may adopt reasonable rules, consistent with the
	purposes and policies of this subchapter, to enforce the
	requirements, conditions, and limitations provided by this
	subchapter.
	(b)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules necessary to
	ensure compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI (Pub.
	L. No. 88-352), concerning nondiscrimination in admissions or
	employment.
	(c)  The coordinating board shall distribute to each
	eligible institution copies of the rules adopted under this
	subchapter.
	Sec. 56.0859.  ONLINE LIST OF TEXAS WORKS EMPLOYMENT
	OPPORTUNITIES. The coordinating board shall:
	(1)  establish and maintain an online listing of Texas
	WORKS internship program employment opportunities available to
	students, sortable by department, as appropriate; and
	(2)  ensure that the list is easily accessible to the
	public through a clearly identifiable link that appears in a
	prominent place on the coordinating board's Internet website.
	SECTION 5.  Section 56.076(b), Education Code, is repealed.
	SECTION 6.  (a)  As soon as practicable after the effective
	date of this Act, the commissioner of the Texas Higher Education
	Coordinating Board shall develop the rules and procedures necessary
	for the implementation of Subchapter E-1, Chapter 56, Education
	Code, as added by this Act.
	(b)  The changes in law made by this Act apply beginning with
	the 2017 fall semester.
	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, 2017.