By: Farney	H.B. No. 3987

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to programs in public schools designed to facilitate
	planning and saving for higher education and facilitate personal
	financial literacy instruction.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 28.0024 to read as follows:
	Sec. 28.0024.  SCHOOL-BASED SAVINGS PROGRAM. (a)  A school
	district or open-enrollment charter school may establish a
	school-based savings program to facilitate increased awareness of
	the importance of saving for higher education and facilitate
	personal financial literacy instruction.  A district or school may
	offer the program in conjunction with a personal financial literacy
	course under Section 28.0021.
	(b)  A school-based savings program may, through
	partnerships with financial institutions, as defined by Section
	201.101, Finance Code, promote:
	(1)  general savings, by offering savings accounts or
	certificates of deposit through partner financial institutions; or
	(2)  savings dedicated for higher education, by
	offering accounts through partner financial institutions that are
	dedicated exclusively to paying expenses associated with higher
	education, including:
	(A)  an account authorized under Section 529,
	Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
	(B)  a Coverdell education savings account
	established under 26 U.S.C. Section 530;
	(C)  a certificate of deposit;
	(D)  a savings account; and
	(E)  a Roth IRA.
	(c)  A district or school establishing a program under this
	section shall seek to establish partnerships with financial
	institutions, public sector partners, private businesses,
	nonprofit organizations, or philanthropic organizations in the
	community.  A partnership between a district or school and:
	(1)  a financial institution may allow a student in the
	program or another adult in the student's family to have an
	opportunity to establish an account described under Subsection (b);
	and
	(2)  a financial institution, public sector partner,
	private business, or nonprofit or philanthropic organization may
	provide:
	(A)  a structure for the management of the
	program; and
	(B)  incentives that encourage contribution to a
	school-based account under Subsection (b), including incentives
	that provide matching funds or seed funding.
	SECTION 2.  Section 56.007, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 56.007.  EXCLUSION OF ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION
	PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS.  Notwithstanding any
	other law, the right of a person to assets held in or the right to
	receive payments or benefits under any fund, school-based account,
	or plan established under Section 28.0024(b)(2) up to the amount of
	the highest cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required
	fees for a 30-semester hour academic year at a Texas public college
	or university or Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54, including an
	interest in a savings trust account, prepaid tuition account, or
	related matching account, may not be considered an asset of the
	person, or otherwise included in the person's household income or
	other financial resources, for purposes of determining the person's
	eligibility for a TEXAS grant or any other state-funded student
	financial assistance.
	SECTION 3.  Section 31.0039, Human Resources Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 31.0039.  EXCLUSION OF ASSETS IN PREPAID TUITION
	PROGRAMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SAVINGS PLANS. For purposes of
	determining the amount of financial assistance granted to an
	individual under this chapter for the support of dependent children
	or determining whether the family meets household income and
	resource requirements for financial assistance under this chapter,
	the department may not consider the right to assets held in or the
	right to receive payments or benefits under:
	(1)  any fund, school-based account, or plan
	established under Section 28.0024(b)(2), Education Code, up to the
	amount of the highest cost of undergraduate resident tuition and
	required fees for a 30-semester hour academic year at a Texas public
	college or university.  or Subchapter G, H, or I, Chapter 54,
	Education Code, including an interest in a savings trust account,
	prepaid tuition contract, or related matching account; or
	(2)  any qualified tuition program of any state that
	meets the requirements of Section 529, Internal Revenue Code of
	1986.
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 33, Human Resources Code,
	is amended by adding Section 33.0291 to read as follows:
	Sec. 33.0291.  EXCLUSION OF SCHOOL-BASED ACCOUNTS. For
	purposes of determining whether a person meets family income and
	resource requirements for eligibility for the supplemental
	nutrition assistance program, the commission may not consider as
	income or resources a right to assets held in or a right to receive
	payments or benefits under a school-based account established under
	Section 28.0024(b)(2), Education Code up to the amount of the
	highest cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees
	for a 30-semester hour academic year at a Texas public college or
	university.
	SECTION 5.  If before implementing any provision of this Act
	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
	waiver or authorization is granted.
	SECTION 6.  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.