free community college tuition grant, someday

The text as introduced · 1,584 words

90R6498 HMJ-F

By: Bhojani
H.B. No. 296

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Grant 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 V to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER V. TEXAS PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM

Sec. 56.651. 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) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program

established under this subchapter.

(4) "Public junior college," "public technical

institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned

by Section 61.003.

Sec. 56.652. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas

Promise Grant Program is to provide:

(1) assistance in the payment of tuition and mandatory

fees to enable eligible students to attend two-year institutions of

higher education; and

(2) an incentive for eligible students to complete an

associate degree or certificate program at two-year institutions of

higher education.

Sec. 56.653. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF GRANT AND

INCENTIVE BONUS. (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 a grant and incentive

bonus to each eligible student under the program.

Sec. 56.654. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be

eligible initially for a grant under the program, a person must:

(1) be a resident of this state as determined by

coordinating board rules;

(2) have graduated from high school or received a high

school equivalency certificate within the last three years;

(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 or

nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under

this subchapter.

(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant 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 90 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.

(c) A person may not receive a grant under the program for

more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.

(d) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program

ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under

the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible

institution.

Sec. 56.655. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a

grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant

under the program during each semester or term in which the person

is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:

(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate

program at an eligible institution;

(2) 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;

(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an

associate degree or certificate; and

(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or

nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.

(b) 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 grant under the program during the next

semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become

eligible to receive a grant 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 grant; and

(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).

(c) 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 or the equivalent attempted in the person'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 coursework

previously attempted at institutions of higher education.

(d) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the

program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the

person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.

(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a

person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant 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 grant 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 student's grade point average or completion

rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of

Subsection (c).

Sec. 56.656. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program

must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees

at an eligible institution.

Sec. 56.657. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant

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 greater of:

(1) 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; or

(2) $1,000.

(b) 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 grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a

student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a

student in an associate degree or certificate program, as

determined by the coordinating board.

(c) A grant 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 amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the

student has been established for purposes of determining the

appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).

(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible

student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to

the student.

Sec. 56.658. INCENTIVE BONUS. (a) A student receiving a

grant under the program is eligible to receive an incentive bonus on

completion of the student's associate degree or certificate program

at an eligible institution.

(b) The amount of an incentive bonus awarded under this

section is $1,000.

Sec. 56.659. 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 grant and

incentive bonus 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 V, 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 grants and incentive bonuses under Subchapter V,

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 grants or

incentive bonuses under that subchapter for an academic year before

the 2028-2029 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, 2027.