By: Kolkhorst  S.B. No. 369          (In the Senate - Filed January 15, 2021; March 9, 2021, read   first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 19, 2021,   reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the   following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 19, 2021, sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 369 By:  Schwertner     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to the requirement to submit a financial aid application   as a condition of high school graduation for public school   students.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 28.0256(a), (c), (d), and (e),   Education Code, are amended to read as follows:          (a)  Before graduating from high school, each student must   complete and submit a free application for federal student aid   (FAFSA) or a Texas application for state financial aid (TASFA),   except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b).          (c)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school   shall adopt a form to be used for purposes of Subsection (b). The   form must [be]:                (1)  be approved by the agency; [and]                (2)  provide the student or the student's parent or   other person standing in parental relation, as applicable, the   opportunity to decline to complete and submit a financial aid   application, as provided by Subsection (b); and                (3)  be made available in English, Spanish, and any   other language spoken by a majority of the students enrolled in a   bilingual education or special language program under Subchapter B,   Chapter 29, in the district or school.          (d)  If a school counselor notifies a school district or   open-enrollment charter school whether a student has complied with   this section for purposes of determining whether the student meets   high school graduation requirements under Section 28.025, the   school counselor may only indicate whether the student has complied   with this section and may not indicate the manner in which the   student complied, except as necessary for the district or school to   comply with rules adopted under Subsection (e)(2). A school   counselor may not indicate that a student has not complied with this   section if the school district or open-enrollment charter school   fails to provide the form adopted under Subsection (c) to the   student or the student's parent or other person standing in   parental relation to the student.          (e)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to   implement this section, including rules to:                (1)  establish:                      (A)  a timeline for:                            (i)  the distribution to students of the   free application for federal student aid or Texas application for   state financial aid and the form adopted under Subsection (c); and                            (ii)  the submission of a form under   Subsection (b);                      (B)  standards regarding the information that a   school district or open-enrollment charter school must provide to   students regarding:                            (i)  in accordance with Section   33.007(b)(5), instructions for filling out the free application for   federal student aid or Texas application for state financial aid;   and                            (ii)  the options available to a student   under Subsection (b) if the student wishes to decline to complete   and submit a financial aid application; and                      (C)  the method by which a student must provide to   a school district or open-enrollment charter school proof that the   student has completed and submitted the free application for   federal student aid or Texas application for state financial aid as   required by this section;                (2)  require each school district and open-enrollment   charter school to report to the agency:                      (A)  the number of students who completed and   submitted a financial aid application under Subsection (a); and                      (B)  the number of students who received an   exception from complying with Subsection (a) under Subsection (b);   and                (3)  ensure compliance with federal law regarding   confidentiality of student educational information, including the   Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.   Section 1232g), and any state law relating to the privacy of student   information.          SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022   school 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, 2021.     * * * * *