HBA-LCA H.B. 3043 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3043 By: Palmer Public Education 4/21/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE H.B. 3043 amends the Education Code to create the Hope Education Account, to which the balance of the revenue in the lottery account, after establishment of a reserve, shall be deposited. The account will be used to fund a supplemental prekindergarten program for certain qualified children of at least four years of age, and to fund the Texas Hope Scholarship Program, also created by this Act. The scholarship program is a financial assistance program for qualified undergraduate students in institutions of higher learning. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 5 (Section 56.307, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 466.355(b), Government Code, to provide that the balance of money in the state lottery account, after creation of a reserve sufficient to pay the amounts specified in Subdivisions (1)-(3), shall be transferred to the hope education account, rather than the foundation school fund. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter G, Chapter 403, Government Code, by adding Section 403.105, as follows: Sec. 403.105. HOPE EDUCATION ACCOUNT. (a) Provides that the hope education account (account) is an account in the general revenue fund. (b) Requires the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) to distribute one half of the revenue in the account to each school district (district) that provides elementary education. Specifies the formula for distribution of revenue as based upon average daily attendance of first and second grade students in a district proportionate to all qualified districts. Requires the district to use money received under this subsection to fund a prekindergarten program as established under Section 29.1531, Education Code, as added in SECTION 4 of this Act. (c) Requires the comptroller to transfer one half of the revenue deposited to the credit of the account to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) to fund scholarships under Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, as added in SECTION 5 of this Act. (d) Requires the comptroller to transfer the revenue to the account not less than monthly in the amounts provided by Subsections (b) and (c). SECTION 3. Amends the heading to Section 29.153, Education Code, to read as follows: Sec. 29.153. PREKINDERGARTEN FOR CERTAIN ELIGIBLE CHILDREN. SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Section 29.1531, as follows: Sec. 29.1531. PREKINDERGARTEN FUNDED BY LOTTERY PROCEEDS. (a) Requires a district, upon receiving lottery proceeds under Subsection (b), to administer a supplemental prekindergarten program (program) for children who are at least four years of age and who are ineligible to enroll in prekindergarten classes under Section 29.153, Education Code (Prekindergarten). (b) Requires a district to fund a program exclusively with funds received from the account. Provides that a district is not required to provide prekindergarten classes to a child who is not selected for participation in the program under Subsection (c). (c) Requires a district to develop and implement procedures for selection in the program that include: a determination of the number of positions available in the program based on available funding each year; a process for notifying parents of eligible children; and a random selection process to use when the number of applicants to the program exceeds the number of positions available. (d) Provides that a district may operate prekindergarten classes under this section jointly with prekindergarten classes operated under Section 29.153, Education Code (Prekindergarten). SECTION 5. Amends Chapter 56, Education Code, by adding Subchapter M, as follows: SUBCHAPTER M. TEXAS HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Sec. 56.301. DEFINITION. Provides that in this subchapter, "coordinating board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board). Sec. 56.302. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) Provides that the financial assistance program (program) authorized by this subchapter is known as the Texas Hope Scholarship Program, and that an individual grant awarded under this subchapter is known as a hope scholarship (scholarship). (b) Provides that the purpose of the program is to provide a grant for tuition and fees to a qualified student entering an institution of higher education (institution), and for the person to continue receiving assistance while achieving and maintaining excellent academic performance. Sec. 56.303. ELIGIBLE PERSON. (a) Sets forth the eligibility requirements for a person to receive a scholarship. (b) Provides that only an undergraduate student who has not been granted a baccalaureate degree may receive a scholarship. (c) Prohibits a person from receiving a scholarship for more than 140 semester hours. (d) Provides that a person convicted of certain, specified crimes may not receive a scholarship unless the person has met the other eligibility requirements and has received a certificate of discharge from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or completed a period of court-ordered probation, and at least two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt of the certificate of completion. Provides that a person convicted of certain, specified crimes may not receive a scholarship unless the person has met the other eligibility requirements and has received a pardon, had the offense expunged, or otherwise been released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship. Sec. 56.304. ALLOCATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS; SELECTION OF FRESHMAN RECIPIENTS. (a) Requires the board, each year, to estimate the total amount to be transferred from the account for the next academic year, the amount previously transferred that will still be available, and the portion of the sum of those amounts that will be necessary to fund the scholarships for entitled students in the next academic year under Section 56.305, Education Code, as added in SECTION 5 of this Act. (b) Requires the board to determine the number of scholarships available for award to incoming freshmen in the following school year based on the estimates made in Subsection (a). (c) Requires the board to allocate the scholarships available for the next academic year according to a specified formula as approved by the commissioner of education. Requires the board to award the scholarships to eligible high school graduates. Requires the board, if the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of scholarships allocated to the district, to determine which applicants receive a scholarship through a random selection process. Provides that if the number of scholarships available exceeds the number of applicants, the amount of the unused scholarships is treated as an amount received from the hope education fund in the following academic year. (d) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), prohibits the board, in the first three years in which it awards scholarships, from using more than half the amount of the its estimation for the next academic year to fund scholarships for students under Subsection (c). Sec. 56.305. RETENTION OF SCHOLARSHIP; ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE REQUIREMENTS. Entitles a person receiving a scholarship under Section 56.304 to receive the scholarship in a subsequent semester or summer session if the person is eligible under Section 56.303 and has a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale for courses attempted at an institution or institutions described by Section 56.303(a)(2), which are public and private colleges and universities, and if the person maintains satisfactory progress in the person's degree or certification program as determined by the board. Sec. 56.306. PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP. (a) Requires the board, upon receipt of a person's scholarship application and an enrollment report containing eligibility information from the institution enrolling the person, to determine whether the person is eligible to receive the scholarship and, if the person is selected to receive the scholarship, to distribute the amount of the scholarship for the person to the institution or directly to the person as determined by the board. (b) Provides that the amount for a scholarship is $1,500 for each semester or summer session. Sec. 56.307. RULES; DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION. (a) Requires the coordinating board to adopt rules for the administration of this subchapter. (b) Requires the board to distribute to each institution and to each district information describing the Texas Hope Scholarship Program and how a student may qualify and apply for a scholarship. SECTION 6. (a) Effective date: September 1, 1999 (b) Requires each district required to establish a prekindergarten program under Section 29.1531, Education Code, to establish the program not later than the 2000-2001 school year. (c) Requires the board to award scholarships beginning with the 2000 fall semester. SECTION 7. Emergency clause.