bill creates a scholarship for students with disabilities

The text as introduced · 2,066 words

89R3003 MM-F

By: Menéndez
S.B. No. 186

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with

Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain 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 U to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Sec. 56.541. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher

Education Coordinating Board.

(2) "Program" means the Texas Students with

Disabilities Scholarship Program established under this

subchapter.

Sec. 56.542. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas

Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program is to provide

assistance in the payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable

eligible students to attend institutions of higher education.

Sec. 56.543. 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 institutions of higher education

and a representative from at least one of the University Centers for

Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in this state in

developing the rules.

(b) The coordinating board shall award a scholarship to each

eligible student under the program, as provided by Section 56.547.

(c) The coordinating board by rule shall develop a

disability affidavit form that may be used to establish that a

student has a disability for purposes of Section 56.544(a)(6) based

on a diagnosis by a licensed physician or other documentation

determined appropriate by the coordinating board. In developing

the disability affidavit form in a manner that ensures the form

properly verifies that a person has a disability, the coordinating

board shall consult with:

(1) at least one University Centers for Excellence in

Developmental Disabilities program in this state; or

(2) a statewide, cross-disability advocacy

organization.

(d) The coordinating board may use any available revenue,

including legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept

gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for

the purposes of this subchapter.

Sec. 56.544. 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) be enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate

degree or certificate program at an institution of higher

education;

(3) be enrolled as an entering student for at least

one-quarter of a full course load for an entering student in the

associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as

determined by the coordinating board;

(4) have applied for any available financial aid or

assistance;

(5) comply with any additional nonacademic or

nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under

this subchapter; and

(6) establish that the person has a disability by:

(A) providing proof that the person:

(i) is a person with a disability as defined

by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102;

(ii) receives Supplemental Security Income

(SSI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq. on the basis of

disability or blindness;

(iii) receives Social Security Disability

Insurance (SSDI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; or

(iv) qualifies for or is receiving

vocational rehabilitation services provided through the Texas

Workforce Commission; or

(B) if the student is unable to provide proof in

accordance with Paragraph (A), completing a disability affidavit

form developed in accordance with Section 56.543(c).

(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 completed more than the following

number of semester credit hours or the equivalent at an institution

of higher education, excluding semester credit hours or the

equivalent earned for a dual credit course:

(1) 90 semester credit hours or the equivalent, if the

person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of two years

or less; or

(2) 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 fourth 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 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 two years

but not more than four years; or

(3) the eighth 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. 56.545. 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 institution of higher education only if

the person:

(1) is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate

degree or certificate program at an institution of higher

education;

(2) is enrolled for at least one-quarter of a full

course load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree or

certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;

(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an

associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate; and

(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or

nonfinancial 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

person 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

completes at least 25 percent of the semester credit hours or the

equivalent attempted in the person's most recent academic year.

(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 a

showing 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 or the

equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or

(2) if the person's completion rate falls below the

satisfactory academic progress requirements of Subsection (d).

Sec. 56.546. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under

the program must be applied first to the payment of tuition and

mandatory fees at an institution of higher education.

Sec. 56.547. 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 institution of higher education is an amount determined by the

coordinating board under Subsection (b) based on the amount of

funds available for distribution and the number of eligible

applicants.

(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules and procedures

for determining the amount of the scholarship for each academic

year or during an academic year as necessary to respond to

fluctuations in the amount of funds available for distribution.

(c) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the

coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of

semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is

enrolled, the amount of a scholarship award to a student who is

enrolled in less than a full course load for a student in an

associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program, as

determined by the coordinating board.

(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible

student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship

awarded to the student.

Sec. 56.548. 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, 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.

SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating

Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,

Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after

the effective date of this Act.

(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall

begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter U, 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 2026-2027 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, 2025.