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  84R5618 KJE-D
 
  By: Hernandez H.B. No. 2517
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Scholarship
  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 T to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 56.521.  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)  "Institution of higher education," "public junior
  college," "public technical institute," and "public state college"
  have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
               (4)  "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
  Program established under this subchapter.
         Sec. 56.522.  PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
  Promise Scholarship 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. 56.523.  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF
  SCHOLARSHIP. (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 scholarships to
  eligible students under the program. In determining who should
  receive a scholarship under the program, the coordinating board
  shall give highest priority to awarding scholarships to students
  who demonstrate the greatest financial need.
         (c)  An eligible institution shall provide to a student who
  receives a scholarship under the program for a semester or other
  academic term a credit in the amount of the scholarship, to be
  applied toward the payment of tuition and mandatory fees charged by
  the institution for that semester or term.
         Sec. 56.524.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
  be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
  must:
               (1)  be a resident of this state as determined by
  coordinating board rules;
               (2)  meet financial need requirements as defined by the
  coordinating board;
               (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
  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 (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 scholarship under the
  program.
         (c)  A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
  the program if the person has been granted an associate or
  baccalaureate degree.
         (d)  A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
  for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
         (e)  A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
  program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
  scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
  enrollment in an eligible institution.
         Sec. 56.525.  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 an eligible institution only if the
  person:
               (1)  meets financial need requirements as defined by
  the coordinating board;
               (2)  is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
  program at an eligible institution;
               (3)  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;
               (4)  makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
  associate 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
  (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 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 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 eligible
  institution.
         (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. 56.526.  SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
  the program may be applied only to the payment of tuition and
  mandatory fees at an eligible institution.
         Sec. 56.527.  SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
  scholarship 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 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.
         (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)  The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
  student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
  awarded to the student.
         Sec. 56.528.  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 scholarship
  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 T, 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 scholarships under Subchapter T, 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 scholarships under that subchapter
  for an academic year before the 2016-2017 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, 2015.