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 |
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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. |