Bill Text: TX SB885 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the maximum number of semester credit hours allowed for and funding sources used to supplement a TEXAS grant and to the removal of obsolete references related to the Teach for Texas grant program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-11 - Removed from local & uncontested calendar [SB885 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB885-Comm_Sub.html
By: Seliger | S.B. No. 885 | |
(In the Senate - Filed February 14, 2017; February 28, 2017, | ||
read first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education; | ||
May 1, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee | ||
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 1, 2017, | ||
sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 885 | By: Seliger |
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relating to the maximum number of semester credit hours allowed for | ||
and funding sources used to supplement a TEXAS grant and to the | ||
removal of obsolete references related to the Teach for Texas grant | ||
program. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 56.3051 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 56.3051. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS. A | ||
person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than the lesser of: | ||
(1) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent; or | ||
(2) 15 semester credit hours, or the equivalent, in | ||
addition to the number of credit hours needed to complete the | ||
student's degree program. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 56.307, Education Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (j) to read as follows: | ||
(j) A public institution of higher education shall use other | ||
available sources of financial aid, other than a loan or work study, | ||
to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS grant awarded to | ||
the student and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at | ||
the institution if the difference results from: | ||
(1) a reduction in the amount of a TEXAS grant under | ||
Subsection (i-1); or | ||
(2) a deficiency in the amount of the grant as | ||
established under Subsection (a) or (e), as applicable, to cover | ||
the full amount of tuition and required fees charged to the student | ||
by the institution. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 56.308(b), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) Each school district shall: | ||
(1) notify its middle school students, junior high | ||
school students, and high school students, those students' teachers | ||
and school counselors, and those students' parents of the TEXAS | ||
grant program [ |
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requirements of the [ |
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informed curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high | ||
school, and sources of information on higher education admissions | ||
and financial aid in a manner that assists the district in | ||
implementing a strategy adopted by the district under Section | ||
11.252(a)(4); and | ||
(2) ensure that each student's official transcript or | ||
diploma indicates whether the student has completed or is on | ||
schedule to complete: | ||
(A) the recommended or advanced high school | ||
curriculum required for grant eligibility under Section 28.002 or | ||
28.025; or | ||
(B) for a school district covered by Section | ||
56.304(f)(1), the required portion of the recommended or advanced | ||
high school curriculum in the manner described by Section | ||
56.304(f)(2). | ||
SECTION 4. Sections 56.311(a), (b), (c), (c-1), (e), and | ||
(g), Education Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The Legislative Oversight Committee on the TEXAS grant | ||
program [ |
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members as follows: | ||
(1) three members of the senate appointed by the | ||
lieutenant governor; and | ||
(2) three members of the house of representatives | ||
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. | ||
(b) The committee shall: | ||
(1) meet at least twice a year with the coordinating | ||
board; and | ||
(2) receive information regarding rules relating to | ||
the TEXAS grant program [ |
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have been adopted by the coordinating board or proposed for | ||
adoption by the coordinating board. | ||
(c) The committee may request reports and other information | ||
from the coordinating board relating to the operation of the TEXAS | ||
grant program [ |
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coordinating board. | ||
(c-1) The [ |
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coordinating board shall include in its annual report to the | ||
legislature on financial aid in this state [ |
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committee regarding the operation of the TEXAS grant program, | ||
including information from the three preceding state fiscal years | ||
as follows: | ||
(1) allocations of TEXAS grants by eligible | ||
institution, disaggregated by initial and subsequent awards; | ||
(2) the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students | ||
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and expected family | ||
contribution; | ||
(3) disaggregated as required by Subdivision (2) and | ||
reported both on a statewide basis and for each eligible | ||
institution, the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students who | ||
meet: | ||
(A) only the eligibility criteria described by | ||
Section 56.304; or | ||
(B) the eligibility criteria described by | ||
Section 56.3041(2)(A); and | ||
(4) the persistence, retention, and graduation rates | ||
of students receiving TEXAS grants. | ||
(e) The committee shall monitor the operation of the TEXAS | ||
grant program [ |
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the manner of the award of grants, the number of grants awarded, and | ||
the educational progress made by persons who have received grants | ||
under the program [ |
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(g) The report shall include identification of any problems | ||
in the TEXAS grant program [ |
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recommended solutions for the coordinating board and for | ||
legislative action. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 56.304(d), Education Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply | ||
beginning with initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for the | ||
2018 fall semester. Initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for | ||
a semester or term before the 2018 fall semester are governed by the | ||
applicable law in effect immediately before the effective date of | ||
this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that | ||
purpose. | ||
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. | ||
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