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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7097
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5494
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE STONE ACADEMY HEALTHCARE
EDUCATION SUPPORT PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "advanced 1
nursing degree" means a master's degree or doctorate in nursing. 2
(b) There is established a scholarship program to be known as the 3
"Stone Academy Healthcare Education Support Program" administered 4
by the Office of Higher Education. The office shall award a scholarship 5
under said scholarship program to any student who (1) enrolled in the 6
practical nurse education program at Stone Academy during the period 7
commencing November 1, 2021, and ending February 28, 2023, whether 8
or not such student completed such program, and (2) is pursuing a 9
health care certificate or degree at a program that is accredited by an 10
accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of 11
Education and, if applicable, approved by the Connecticut State Board 12
of Examiners for Nursing pursuant to section 20-90 of the general 13
statutes or another board within the Department of Public Health 14
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responsible for approving such program. A student may receive a 15
scholarship under said scholarship program for degree or certification 16
programs for the following: Dental assisting, dental hygiene, diagnostic 17
medical sonography, health information technology, nuclear medicine, 18
nursing, licensed practical nursing, occupational therapy assisting, 19
paramedic, physical therapy assisting, radiation therapy, radiography, 20
respiratory care, surgical technology, veterinarian technology, exercise 21
science, health administration, outpatient medical coding and auditing, 22
clinical coding, medical billing and coding, massage therapy, medical 23
assisting, medical lab technology, nutrition and dietetics, ophthalmic 24
design and dispensary, central sterile processing, nurse assisting, 25
emergency medical technician, electrocardiogram technician, medical 26
interpreter, ophthalmic technician, patient care technician, personal care 27
aide or any other programs approved by the Commissioner of Higher 28
Education. Scholarships under said scholarship program shall be 29
available on a first-come, first-served basis and in an amount prescribed 30
by the commissioner. The Stone Academy Healthcare Education 31
Support Program shall terminate when all funds allocated for such 32
purpose are exhausted or on June 30, 2030, whichever is earlier. On or 33
before September 1, 2025, said office shall post in a conspicuous location 34
on its Internet web site (A) a description of said scholarship program, 35
including, but not limited to, the amount of the scholarships available 36
to such students, and (B) the application form for said scholarship 37
program. 38
(c) Not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter until 39
January 1, 2031, the Office of Higher Education shall submit, in 40
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 41
to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 42
cognizance of matters relating to higher education and employment 43
advancement a report concerning the impact on the state's health care 44
workforce from the Stone Academy Healthcare Education Support 45
Program established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. 46
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2025) The sum of ten million dollars is 47
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appropriated to the Office of Higher Education from the General Fund, 48
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, for the Stone Academy 49
Healthcare Education Support Program established pursuant to section 50
1 of this act. 51
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a scholarship program to allocate not less than ten million
dollars during a five-year period to former students of the practical
nurse education program at Stone Academy to pursue an advanced
nursing degree at accredited programs and require the Office of Higher
Education to report on the impact of such program on the health care
workforce.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]