| (a) Purpose. The Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST)
program is established to allow eligible students to enroll, at no
cost to the student, in dual credit courses at participating institutions
of higher education.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Dual credit course--A course offered for joint
high school and junior college credit under Texas Education Code (TEC), §130.008,
or another course offered by an institution of higher education for
which a high school student may earn credit toward satisfaction of:
(A) a requirement necessary to obtain an industry-recognized
credential or certificate or an associate degree;
(B) a foreign language requirement at an institution
of higher education;
(C) a requirement in the core curriculum, as that term
is defined by TEC, §61.821, at an institution of higher education;
or
(D) a requirement in a field of study curriculum developed
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under TEC, §61.823.
(2) Institution of higher education--An institution
of higher education has the meaning assigned by TEC, §61.003.
(c) Student eligibility. A student who is educationally
disadvantaged at any time during the four school years preceding the
students' enrollment in a dual credit course is eligible for the FAST
program. To be considered educationally disadvantaged, a student must
meet the income requirements for eligibility under the National School
Lunch Program (NSLP), authorized by 42 United States Code, §§1751,
et seq. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools may use
the following approved methods for determining student eligibility
for the FAST program:
(1) parent certification, where the parent or guardian
asserts meeting the income requirements for eligibility under this
subsection;
(2) direct certification, where eligible children are
certified for free meals without the need for a household application
based on household participation in one or more federal assistance
programs; or
(3) direct verification, where public records are used
to verify a student's eligibility for free or reduced-price meals
when verification of student eligibility is required.
(d) Student eligibility under an alternative method.
School districts and open-enrollment charter schools with one or more
campuses not participating in the NSLP may derive an eligible student
count by an alternative method as determined by the Texas Education
Agency (TEA).
(e) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). School districts
and open-enrollment charter schools with one or more campuses using
the CEP must still determine each student's individual eligibility
status under the income guidelines for the NSLP for purposes of the
FAST program.
(f) Recordkeeping. School districts and open-enrollment
charter schools that participate in the FAST program pursuant to this
section are responsible for obtaining the appropriate data from families
of potentially eligible students, verifying that information, and
retaining records.
(g) Auditing procedures. TEA will conduct an audit
of data submitted by school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools that participate in the FAST program pursuant to this section
at the discretion of the commissioner of education.
(h) Data source. The FAST program will be based on
each eligible student submitted by school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools in the Texas Student Data System Public Education
Information Management System fall submission. An indicator must be
submitted for every educationally disadvantaged student and each student
coded with average daily attendance (ADA) eligibility, except those
students who are homeless, not enrolled, or otherwise ineligible for
ADA or who reside in a residential facility and whose parents live
outside the district.
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