Bill Text: TX SB882 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the Texas First Generation Matching Scholarship Program for certain first generation students at public institutions of higher education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-03 - Left pending in committee [SB882 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB882-Introduced.html
  86R4220 KJE-D
 
  By: Menéndez S.B. No. 882
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the Texas First Generation
  Matching Scholarship Program for certain first generation 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 S to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER S. TEXAS FIRST GENERATION MATCHING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 56.501.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "First generation student" means a person:
                     (A)  whose parents or legal guardians have not
  obtained a baccalaureate degree; or
                     (B)  who is or was in the conservatorship of the
  Department of Family and Protective Services.
               (3)  "Program" means the Texas First Generation
  Matching Scholarship Program.
         Sec. 56.502.  PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
  First Generation Matching Scholarship Program is to provide
  assistance in the payment of tuition and required fees to enable
  eligible first generation students to attend institutions of higher
  education.
         Sec. 56.503.  FIRST GENERATION MATCHING SCHOLARSHIP
  ACCOUNT. (a) The first generation matching scholarship account is
  an account in the general revenue fund.
         (b)  The account consists of:
               (1)  money appropriated or transferred to the credit of
  the account by the legislature; and
               (2)  interest earned on the investment of money in the
  account.
         (c)  Money in the account may be used only to provide
  scholarships to eligible first generation students as provided by
  this subchapter.
         Sec. 56.504.  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. 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 in developing the rules.
         Sec. 56.505.  AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.  From money available
  for the purpose, each institution of higher education shall award
  scholarships to eligible students under the program.
         Sec. 56.506.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
  be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
  must:
               (1)  be a first generation student;
               (2)  be a resident of this state as determined by
  coordinating board rules;
               (3)  meet financial need requirements as defined by the
  coordinating board;
               (4)  be enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
  degree or certificate program at an institution of higher
  education;
               (5)  be enrolled as an entering student for at least
  one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
  associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as
  determined by the coordinating board;
               (6)  have applied for any available financial aid or
  assistance; and
               (7)  comply with any additional nonacademic
  requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
  subchapter.
         (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, 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:
               (1)  been granted:
                     (A)  a certificate for completion of a certificate
  program; or
                     (B)  an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
               (2)  completed more than the following number of
  semester credit hours or the equivalent at an institution of higher
  education:
                     (A)  90 semester credit hours or the equivalent,
  if the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two
  years or less; or
                     (B)  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 third 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 fifth 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 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 four years.
         Sec. 56.507.  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 a participating institution only if the
  person:
               (1)  meets financial need requirements as defined by
  the coordinating board;
               (2)  is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
  degree or certificate program at a participating institution;
               (3)  is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
  load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree or
  certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;
               (4)  makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
  associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate; and
               (5)  complies with any additional nonacademic
  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, 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)  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
  student 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:
                     (A)  completes at least 75 percent of the semester
  credit hours attempted in the student'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 course work
  previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
         (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 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 required
  under Subsection (a)(3); or
               (2)  if the student's grade point average or completion
  rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
  Subsection (d).
         Sec. 56.508.  SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
  the program may be applied only to the payment of tuition and
  required fees at an institution of higher education.
         Sec. 56.509.  SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT; ALLOCATION. (a) The
  amount of a scholarship awarded by an institution of higher
  education to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
  other academic term in which the student is enrolled at the
  institution may not exceed the difference between the amount of
  tuition and required 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.
         (b)  A scholarship 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 student's unmet financial need has been
  established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
  the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
         (c)  An institution of higher education that awards a
  scholarship under the program is responsible for two-thirds of the
  total amount of the scholarship determined under Subsection (a).  
  The state is responsible for the remainder, to be paid from the
  first generation matching scholarship account established under
  Section 56.503 or from other funds appropriated for that purpose.
         Sec. 56.510.  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 or
  guardians, 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.
         Sec. 56.511.  GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS.  In addition to
  other money appropriated by the legislature, each institution of
  higher education may solicit, accept, and spend gifts, grants, and
  donations from any public or private source for the purposes of the
  program.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
  Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter S, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
  the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  Each public institution of higher education shall begin
  awarding scholarships under Subchapter S, Chapter 56, Education
  Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year for which
  money is available for that purpose, except that an institution may
  not award scholarships under that subchapter for an academic year
  before the 2020-2021 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, 2019.
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