By: West  S.B. No. 1467
         (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2017; March 20, 2017, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
  April 6, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
  Nays 0; April 6, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the Texas college work-study program and to
  establishing a program for the off-campus employment of certain
  students at public or private institutions of higher education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 56.076(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  An eligible institution may employ eligible students
  [enter into agreements with employers that participate] in the
  work-study program.  To be eligible to participate in the
  work-study program, an eligible institution [employer] must:
               (1)  provide part-time employment to an eligible
  student in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities;
               (2)  provide, insofar as is practicable, employment to
  an eligible student that is related to the student's academic
  interests;
               (3)  use Texas college work-study program positions
  only to supplement and not to supplant positions normally filled by
  persons not eligible to participate in the work-study program;
               (4)  provide from sources other than federal college
  work-study program funds a percentage of an employed student's
  wages that is equal to the percentage of a student's wages that the
  eligible institution [employer] would be required to provide to the
  student in that academic year under the federal college work-study
  program; and
               (5)  provide from sources other than federal college
  work-study funds 100 percent of other employee benefits for the
  employed student.
         SECTION 2.  Section 56.078, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 56.078.  FUNDING. Funding to cover the state's
  contribution toward the funding of the work-study program under
  this subchapter and the Texas WORKS internship program under
  Subchapter E-1 is payable from funds appropriated for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  Section 56.082(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall submit to the
  standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over
  higher education and post on the coordinating board's Internet
  website a report on the Texas college work-study program and the
  Texas WORKS internship program.  The report must include the total
  number of students employed through the programs [program],
  disaggregated by:
               (1)  the employment position's location on or off
  campus; and
               (2)  the employer's status as a for-profit or nonprofit
  entity.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter E-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER E-1.  TEXAS WORKING OFF-CAMPUS:  REINFORCING KNOWLEDGE
  AND SKILLS (WORKS) INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 56.0851.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "Eligible wages" means gross wages paid to an
  individual student, not to exceed the amount approved by the
  coordinating board.
               (3)  "Program" or "Texas WORKS internship program" 
  means the Texas Working Off-Campus:  Reinforcing Knowledge and
  Skills (WORKS) Internship Program.
         Sec. 56.0852.  PROGRAM NAME. The student financial
  assistance program authorized by this subchapter shall be known as
  the Texas Working Off-Campus:  Reinforcing Knowledge and Skills
  (WORKS) Internship Program.
         Sec. 56.0853.  PURPOSE.  The purpose of this subchapter is to
  provide jobs funded in part by the State of Texas to eligible
  students with financial need to enable those students to attend
  eligible public or private institutions of higher education in
  Texas.
         Sec. 56.0854.  ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY. (a)  The
  coordinating board shall administer the program and collaborate
  with eligible institutions and employers to provide eligible
  students with part-time employment funded in part by the state.
         (b)  State support for the program may not exceed the amount
  specified by appropriation.
         (c)  The coordinating board shall establish criteria to
  ensure that:
               (1)  each eligible employer has demonstrated the
  administrative and financial capacity to carry out the employer's
  responsibilities under the program, including the ability to pay
  full wages and benefits to a student employed through the program;
  and
               (2)  a participating employer is reimbursed under the
  program at the rate established by the coordinating board only for
  fully paid eligible wages.
         (d)  The coordinating board shall develop a standard
  contract establishing the roles and responsibilities of eligible
  employers.  The coordinating board shall use the standard contract
  as a model for the memorandum of understanding that the
  coordinating board will require for participation in the program.
         (e)  The coordinating board shall reimburse an eligible
  employer at a rate established by the coordinating board for the
  eligible wages paid by the employer to a student participating in
  the program. 
         (f)  The coordinating board shall establish the rate or rates
  at which employers are required to pay students participating in
  the program. 
         (g)  The coordinating board may use funds appropriated for
  the Texas college work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship
  program to establish and maintain an online portal for use by
  students and participating entities in fulfilling their
  responsibilities for participation in the Texas WORKS internship
  program. The coordinating board may use funds appropriated for the
  Texas college work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship
  program to cover the expenses and personnel costs of administering
  and assessing this program.
         (h)  If funding for the program is insufficient to cover the
  cost of all eligible students, priority for funding is based on the
  order of application, as determined through coordinating board
  rules, as well as any additional priority eligibility criteria
  established by coordinating board rules.
         Sec. 56.0855.  ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION. For purposes of this
  subchapter, an eligible institution is:
               (1)  an institution of higher education, as defined by
  Section 61.003; or
               (2)  a private or independent institution of higher
  education, as defined by Section 61.003.
         Sec. 56.0856.  ELIGIBLE STUDENT.  (a)  To be eligible for
  employment in the program a person must:
               (1)  be a Texas resident as defined by coordinating
  board rules;
               (2)  be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate degree
  or certificate program;
               (3)  establish financial need in accordance with
  coordinating board procedures and rules established for the
  program; 
               (4)  meet eligibility criteria established by the
  coordinating board; and
               (5)  comply with other requirements adopted by the
  coordinating board under this section.
         (b)  A person is not eligible to participate in the program
  if the person:
               (1)  is receiving an athletic scholarship;
               (2)  is enrolled in a seminary or other program leading
  to ordination or licensure to perform religious duties for a
  religious sect or to be a member of a religious order; or
               (3)  has completed a baccalaureate degree.
         (c)  The amount of a student's gross wage eligibility under
  the program is an amount determined by coordinating board rule, and
  funds received by students as eligible wages under the program are
  not considered as financial aid for the academic year in which they
  are earned.
         Sec. 56.0857.  ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER. (a)  The coordinating
  board may enter into agreements with employers that participate in
  the program.
         (b)  To be eligible to enter into an agreement with the
  coordinating board to participate in the program, an employer must:
               (1)  be a private nonprofit or for-profit entity or a
  governmental entity, other than an eligible institution or a career
  school or college as defined by Section 132.001;
               (2)  enter into a memorandum of understanding with the
  coordinating board;
               (3)  provide part-time employment to an eligible
  student in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities that relate to
  the student's long-term career interests;
               (4)  use program positions only to supplement and not
  to supplant positions normally filled by persons not eligible to
  participate in the program;
               (5)  provide the entirety of an employed student's
  wages and employee benefits;
               (6)  submit only eligible wages to the coordinating
  board for reimbursement;
               (7)  use a wage rate established by the coordinating
  board; 
               (8)  meet eligibility criteria established by the
  coordinating board; and
               (9)  comply with other requirements adopted by the
  coordinating board under this section.
         Sec. 56.0858.  ADOPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RULES. (a)  The
  coordinating board may adopt reasonable rules, consistent with the
  purposes and policies of this subchapter, to enforce the
  requirements, conditions, and limitations provided by this
  subchapter.
         (b)  The coordinating board shall adopt rules necessary to
  ensure compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI (Pub.
  L. No. 88-352), concerning nondiscrimination in admissions or
  employment.
         (c)  The coordinating board shall distribute to each
  eligible institution copies of the rules adopted under this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 56.0859.  ONLINE LIST OF TEXAS WORKS EMPLOYMENT
  OPPORTUNITIES. The coordinating board shall:
               (1)  establish and maintain an online listing of Texas
  WORKS internship program employment opportunities available to
  students, sortable by department, as appropriate; and
               (2)  ensure that the list is easily accessible to the
  public through a clearly identifiable link that appears in a
  prominent place on the coordinating board's Internet website.
         SECTION 5.  Section 56.076(b), Education Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 6.  (a)  As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act, the commissioner of the Texas Higher Education
  Coordinating Board shall develop the rules and procedures necessary
  for the implementation of Subchapter E-1, Chapter 56, Education
  Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  The changes in law made by this Act apply beginning with
  the 2017 fall semester.
         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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