Sec. 56.304. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be eligible initially for a TEXAS grant, a person who graduated from high school before May 1, 2013, must:

(1) be a resident of this state as determined by coordinating board rules;

(2) meet either of the following academic requirements:

(A) be a graduate of a public or accredited private high school in this state who graduated not earlier than the 1998-1999 school year and who completed the recommended or advanced high school curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025 or its equivalent; or

(B) have received an associate degree from a public or private institution of higher education not earlier than May 1, 2001;

(3) meet financial need requirements as defined by the coordinating board;

(4) be enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at an eligible institution;

(5) be enrolled as:

(A) an entering undergraduate student for at least three-fourths of a full course load for an entering undergraduate student, as determined by the coordinating board, not later than the 16th month after the date of the person's graduation from high school; or

(B) an entering student for at least three-fourths of a full course load for an undergraduate student as determined by the coordinating board, not later than the 12th month after the month the person receives an associate degree from a public or private institution of higher education;

(6) have applied for any available financial aid or assistance; and

(7) comply with any additional nonacademic requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this subchapter.

(b) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant 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 has been released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this subchapter.

(c) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.

(d) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than 150 semester credit hours or the equivalent.

(e) If a person is initially awarded a TEXAS grant before the 2005 fall semester, the person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible institution, unless the person is provided additional time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant under Subsection (e-2).

(e-1) If a person is initially awarded a TEXAS grant during or after the 2005 fall semester, unless the person is provided additional time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant under Subsection (e-2), the person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on:

(1) the fifth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant to the person, if the person is enrolled in a degree program of four years; or

(2) the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a TEXAS grant to the person, if the person is enrolled in a degree program of more than four years.

(e-2) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant additional time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant in the event of a hardship or other good cause shown that prevents the person from continuing the person's enrollment during the period the person would otherwise have been eligible to receive a TEXAS grant, including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating condition or that the person is or was responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person.

(f) The requirement in Subsection (a)(2) that a person must have completed the recommended or advanced high school curriculum does not apply to a person who:

(1) attended a public high school in a school district if that district certifies to the commissioner of education that the high school did not offer all the necessary courses for a person to complete all parts of the recommended or advanced high school curriculum; and

(2) completed all courses at the high school offered toward the completion of the recommended or advanced high school curriculum.

(g) Not later than March 1 of each year, the commissioner of education shall provide to the coordinating board a list of all the public high schools that do not offer all the courses necessary to complete all parts of the recommended or advanced high school curriculum as described by Subsection (f)(1).

(h) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant, 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 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 TEXAS grant while enrolled in a number of semester credit hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required under Subsection (a)(5) or Section 56.3041(5), as applicable. The coordinating board may not allow a person to receive a TEXAS grant while enrolled in fewer than six semester credit hours.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1590, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1261, Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1181 (S.B. 1227), Sec. 33, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1230 (H.B. 1172), Sec. 6, eff. June 18, 2005.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1197 (S.B. 28), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1155 (S.B. 215), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2013.