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Arkansas House Bill HB1446

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1446 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
22 *CRH147* 02/11/2025 7:23:11 AM CRH147
33 State of Arkansas 1
44 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
55 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1446 3
66 4
77 By: Representative Lundstrum 5
88 By: Senator J. English 6
99 7
1010 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1111 AN ACT TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS WORKFORCE CHALLENGE 9
1212 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF 10
1313 "APPROVED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION" TO INCLUDE 11
1414 CERTAIN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE VOCATIONAL -TECHNICAL 12
1515 SCHOOLS AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTES; TO INCREASE THE 13
1616 AWARD AMOUNTS; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER 14
1717 PURPOSES. 15
1818 16
1919 17
2020 Subtitle 18
2121 TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS WORKFORCE 19
2222 CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; AND TO 20
2323 DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. 21
2424 22
2525 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 23
2626 24
2727 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-302 is amended to read as follows: 25
2828 6-85-302. Definitions. 26
2929 As used in this subchapter: 27
3030 (1) “Approved institution of higher education” means an 28
3131 institution of higher education approved by the Division of Higher Education 29
3232 to participate in the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship Program and 30
3333 that is: 31
3434 (A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 32
3535 university; or 33
3636 (B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 34
3737 university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 35
3838 to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; 36 HB1446
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4141 (C) A public or private vocational -technical school that 1
4242 is: 2
4343 (i) Eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid 3
4444 funds; 4
4545 (ii) Included on the Workforce Innovation and 5
4646 Opportunity Act eligible training provider list; 6
4747 (iii) Qualified to receive approval for veteran's 7
4848 education benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; or 8
4949 (iv) Included on the State Board of Private Career 9
5050 Education list; or 10
5151 (D) A public or private technical institute that is: 11
5252 (i) Eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid 12
5353 funds; 13
5454 (ii) Included on the Workforce Innovation and 14
5555 Opportunity Act eligible training provider list; 15
5656 (iii) Qualified to receive approval for veteran's 16
5757 education benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; or 17
5858 (iv) Included on the State Board of Private Career 18
5959 Education list; and 19
6060 (2)(A) “Certificate program” means a program that is offered or 20
6161 made available to a student by an approved institution of higher education 21
6262 that leads to the obtainment of a certification or license, including without 22
6363 limitation a program operated or sponsored by a third party or a United 23
6464 States Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program . 24
6565 (B) The credit hours or contact hours awarded for a 25
6666 certificate program may include credit hours or contact hours that are not 26
6767 creditable toward an associate or a baccalaureate degree. 27
6868 28
6969 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-304 is amended to read as follows: 29
7070 6-85-304. Eligibility. 30
7171 (a) A student is eligible to receive an Arkansas Workforce Challenge 31
7272 Scholarship for an academic year if the student applies to the Division of 32
7373 Higher Education by a date determined by the Division of Higher Education 33
7474 preceding the academic year and: 34
7575 (1) Is an Arkansas resident or, if the student is less than 35
7676 twenty-one (21) years of age, either the student or one (1) parent of the 36 HB1446
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7979 student is an Arkansas resident; 1
8080 (2) Is a citizen of the United States or is a lawful permanent 2
8181 resident; 3
8282 (3) Meets either of the following requirements: 4
8383 (A) Graduated from a: 5
8484 (i) Public high school in Arkansas or another state; 6
8585 (ii) Private high school in Arkansas or another 7
8686 state; or 8
8787 (iii) Home school under § 6 -15-501 et seq. or 9
8888 recognized by another state; or 10
8989 (B) Received a high school equivalency diploma approved by 11
9090 the Adult Education Section or another state; 12
9191 (3)(4) Is not receiving a scholarship under the Arkansas 13
9292 Academic Challenge Scholarship Program, § 6 -85-201 et seq.; 14
9393 (4)(5) Is accepted for admission in a program of study at an 15
9494 approved institution of higher education or a private trade school licensed 16
9595 to do business in Arkansas that leads to an associate degree or a certificate 17
9696 program that results in a portable license or certificate in one (1) of the 18
9797 following high-demand fields: 19
9898 (A) Industry Manufacturing; 20
9999 (B) Health care; and 21
100100 (C) Information technology; and 22
101101 (C) Construction trades; and 23
102102 (D) Logistics and distribution; and 24
103103 (5)(A)(6) Whose program of study or certificate program will 25
104104 result in the student's being qualified to work in an occupation identified 26
105105 by the Division of Higher Education, in consultation with the Division of 27
106106 Workforce Services under subdivision (a)(5)(B)(i) of this section . 28
107107 (B)(i) The Division of Workforce Services shall provide 29
108108 annually to the Division of Higher Education by March 1 a list that 30
109109 identifies the five (5) most in -demand occupations in this state in each 31
110110 high-demand field under subdivision (a)(4) of this section that require the 32
111111 completion of a program of study that leads to an associate degree or a 33
112112 certificate program. 34
113113 (ii) The Division of Workforce Services shall publish 35
114114 on its website the list under subdivision (a)(5)(B)(i) of this section and 36 HB1446
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117117 data supporting the list. 1
118118 (b)(1) A student who received a scholarship under this subchapter and 2
119119 successfully completed a program of study or certificate program that meets 3
120120 the requirements under subdivision (a)(4) of this section is eligible to 4
121121 reapply for a scholarship under this subchapter if the student is accepted 5
122122 for admission in a different program of study or certificate program that 6
123123 meets the requirements under subdivision (a)(4) of this section. 7
124124 (2) A student who received a scholarship under this subchapter 8
125125 and does not successfully complete the program of study or certificate 9
126126 program is eligible to reapply for and receive a scholarship one (1) time 10
127127 only. 11
128128 (b)(1) An instructor of the program of study or certificate program 12
129129 under subdivision (a)(6) of this section is required to be licensed or 13
130130 certified in the subject he or she teaches. 14
131131 (2) If the program of study or certificate program is a United 15
132132 States Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program, the 16
133133 qualifications of the instructor shall be determined by the rules for 17
134134 Arkansas's Registered Apprenticeship Programs promulgated by the Office of 18
135135 Skills Development. 19
136136 20
137137 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-305(b), concerning the award amounts 21
138138 distributed under the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship Program, is 22
139139 amended to read as follows: 23
140140 (b)(1) The division shall distribute scholarships from the funds 24
141141 available in an equal amount to every student eligible to receive a 25
142142 scholarship under this subchapter. 26
143143 (2) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the 27
144144 maximum scholarship award a student may receive in an academic year shall be 28
145145 the lesser of: 29
146146 (A) Eight hundred dollars ($800) Two thousand five hundred 30
147147 dollars ($2,500); or 31
148148 (B)(i) The cost of the certificate program or program of 32
149149 study. 33
150150 (ii) The cost of a certificate program or program of 34
151151 study shall include: 35
152152 (a) Tuition, fees, or other charges; 36 HB1446
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155155 (b) Textbooks or other course materials; and 1
156156 (c) Equipment needed for a course. 2
157157 (3) The scholarship awards may be used for expenses included in 3
158158 the cost of the certificate program or program of study. 4
159159 (4) A scholarship under this section shall be only for the 5
160160 academic year for which it is awarded. 6
161161 (5) If the program of study or certificate program extends 7
162162 beyond an academic year, a student who is making sufficient progress may 8
163163 carry over any unspent portion of the scholarship. 9
164164 10
165165 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-307 is amended to read as follows: 11
166166 6-85-307. Rules. 12
167167 The Division of Higher Education , in consultation with the Division of 13
168168 Workforce Services, shall promulgate rules to implement this subchapter. 14
169169 15
170170 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 85, Subchapter 3, is amended 16
171171 to add an additional section to read as follows: 17
172172 6-85-308. Reporting. 18
173173 (a) An approved institution of higher education or certificate program 19
174174 accepting funds under this subchapter shall submit an annual report to the 20
175175 Division of Higher Education that includes without limitation the following: 21
176176 (1) The number of students who graduate with a degree, license, 22
177177 or certification from the approved institution of higher education; 23
178178 (2) A comparison of the enrollment data and graduation data; 24
179179 (3) Job placement statistics; 25
180180 (4) Starting salaries of graduates; and 26
181181 (5) Student information required to be provided to the division 27
182182 under § 6-85-216. 28
183183 (b) The division shall submit the annual report required under 29
184184 subsection (a) of this section to the: 30
185185 (1) House Committee on Education; 31
186186 (2) Senate Committee on Education; and 32
187187 (3) Lottery Oversight Subcommittee of the Legislative Council. 33
188188 34
189189 SECTION 6. DO NOT CODIFY. Rules. 35
190190 (a) When adopting the initial rules required under this act, the 36 HB1446
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193193 Division of Higher Education shall file the final rules with the Secretary of 1
194194 State for adoption under § 25 -15-204(f): 2
195195 (1) On or before ninety (90) days from the effective date of 3
196196 this act; or 4
197197 (2) If approval under § 10 -3-309 has not occurred by ninety (90) 5
198198 days from the effective date of this act, as soon as practicable after 6
199199 approval under § 10-3-309. 7
200200 (b) The division shall file the proposed rules with the Legislative 8
201201 Council under § 10-3-309(c) sufficiently in advance of ninety (90) days from 9
202202 the effective date of this act, so that the Legislative Council may consider 10
203203 the rules for approval before ninety (90) days from the effective date of 11
204204 this act. 12
205205 13
206206 SECTION 7. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 14
207207 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the Arkansas Constitution, 15
208208 Article 19, § 14 was amended by Issue 1 of 2024 to allow state lottery 16
209209 proceeds to fund vocational or technical school scholarships for Arkansans; 17
210210 that there are workforce needs within the state, and the current law needs to 18
211211 be amended immediately in order to effectuate this change voted for by the 19
212212 people that would allow Arkansans to benefit from this change in the use of 20
213213 lottery proceeds; and that this act is immediately necessary because the 21
214214 process and procedures to distribute these scholarships need to be updated as 22
215215 quickly as possible in order to provide scholarship funding for Arkansans 23
216216 that would allow them to receive training and join the workforce of the 24
217217 state. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being 25
218218 immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and 26
219219 safety shall become effective on: 27
220220 (1) The date of its approval by the Governor; 28
221221 (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, 29
222222 the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the 30
223223 bill; or 31
224224 (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is 32
225225 overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto. 33
226226 34
227227 35
228228 36