88R588 KJE-F
	By: Reynolds	H.B. No. 4448

	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 U to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM
	Sec. 56.601.  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. 56.602.  PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
	Promise Grant 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. 56.603.  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF GRANT.
	(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 to each
	eligible student under the program.
	Sec. 56.604.  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 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 grant under the program.
	(c)  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.
	(d)  A person may not receive a grant under the program for
	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
	(e)  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. 56.605.  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)  A person is not eligible to continue to receive a grant
	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 grant 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 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).
	(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 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.
	(e)  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.
	(f)  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 (d).
	Sec. 56.606.  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. 56.607.  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. 56.608.  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 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 U, 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 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 grants under that subchapter for
	an academic year before the 2024-2025 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, 2023.