Bill Text: TX SB1467 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub

---

Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-17 - House passage as amended reported [SB1467 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-SB1467-Comm_Sub.html

---

85R29742 MM-D
By: West S.B. No. 1467
(Lozano, Guillen)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1467: No.

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; and
(5) 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.