Bill Text: TX SB35 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Grant Program for certain students at two-year public institutions of higher education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-15 - Referred to s/c on Higher Education by Pres [SB35 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB35-Introduced.html

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88R588 KJE-F
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 35

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Grant Program
for certain students at two-year 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 PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 56.601. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Eligible institution" means:
(A) a public junior college;
(B) a public technical institute; or
(C) a public state college.
(3) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program
established under this subchapter.
(4) "Public junior college," "public technical
institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
by Section 61.003.
Sec. 56.602. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
Promise Grant Program is to provide assistance in the payment of
tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students to attend
two-year institutions of higher education.
Sec. 56.603. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF GRANT.
(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 eligible institutions in developing the rules.
(b) The coordinating board shall award a grant to each
eligible student under the program.
Sec. 56.604. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
eligible initially for a grant under the program, a person must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) have graduated from high school or received a high
school equivalency certificate within the last three years;
(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
program at an eligible institution;
(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
coordinating board;
(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
assistance; and
(6) comply with any additional nonacademic or
nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
this subchapter.
(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant 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 grant under the program.
(c) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
program if the person has:
(1) been granted:
(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
program; or
(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
(2) completed more than 90 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.
(d) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
(e) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
institution.
Sec. 56.605. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
under the program during each semester or term in which the person
is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
program at an eligible institution;
(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
determined by the coordinating board;
(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
associate 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 grant
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 grant 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 grant under the program during the next
semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
semester or term if the person:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
student is not eligible for a grant; 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 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:
(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
recent academic year; and
(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
(e) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant 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 grant 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 student's grade point average or completion
rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
Subsection (d).
Sec. 56.606. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
at an eligible institution.
Sec. 56.607. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
that semester or term; or
(2) $1,000.
(b) 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 grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
determined by the coordinating board.
(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
student has been established for purposes of determining the
appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
the student.
Sec. 56.608. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant under the
program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each eligible
institution 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. For that purpose, the coordinating
board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
emergency rules.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
begin awarding grants 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 grants 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.