CT
Connecticut Senate Bill SB00005

Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00005 Compare Versions

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3-LCO 1 of 6
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5-General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5
4+LCO No. 4633 1 of 7
5+
6+General Assembly Committee Bill No. 5
67 January Session, 2025
8+LCO No. 4633
79
810
11+Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
12+EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
13+
14+
15+Introduced by:
16+(HED)
917
1018
1119
1220 AN ACT CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY AND
1321 ACCOUNTABILITY.
1422 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
1523 Assembly convened:
1624
1725 Section 1. Section 10a-173 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
1826 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
1927 (a) For the purposes of this section: 3
2028 [(1) "Family contribution" means the expected family contribution for 4
2129 educational costs as computed from a student's Free Application for 5
2230 Federal Student Aid;] 6
2331 [(2)] (1) "Student aid index" means the index used to determine 7
2432 eligibility for financial aid as computed from a student's Free 8
2533 Application for Federal Student Aid; 9
2634 [(3)] (2) "Eligible student" means a student who is (A) a resident of 10
2735 the state, (B) enrolled at an institution of higher education in a course of 11
2836 study leading to such student's first associate or bachelor's degree, and 12
2937 (C) carrying, for a full-time student, twelve or more semester credit 13
38+Committee Bill No. 5
39+
40+
41+LCO No. 4633 2 of 7
42+
3043 hours, or, for a part-time student, between six and eleven semester 14
3144 credit hours at such institution of higher education; 15
32-[(4)] (3) "Independent institution of higher education" means a 16 Substitute Bill No. 5
33-
34-
35-LCO 2 of 6
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45+[(4)] (3) "Independent institution of higher education" means a 16
3746 nonprofit institution established in this state (A) that has degree-17
3847 granting authority in this state; (B) that has its main campus located in 18
3948 this state; (C) that is not included in the Connecticut system of public 19
4049 higher education; and (D) whose primary function is not the preparation 20
4150 of students for religious vocation; 21
4251 [(5)] (4) "Public institution of higher education" means the constituent 22
4352 units of the state system of higher education identified in subdivisions 23
4453 (1) and (2) of section 10a-1, except the regional community-technical 24
4554 colleges; and 25
4655 [(6)] (5) "Eligible educational costs" means the tuition and required 26
4756 fees for an individual student that are published by each public or 27
4857 independent institution of higher education participating in the grant 28
4958 program established under this section, plus a fixed amount for 29
5059 required books and educational supplies as determined by the Office of 30
5160 Higher Education. 31
5261 (b) The Office of Higher Education shall establish the Roberta B. 32
5362 Willis Scholarship program to annually make need-based financial aid 33
5463 available for eligible educational costs to eligible students enrolled at 34
5564 Connecticut's public and independent institutions of higher education. 35
5665 Within available funds, the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program shall 36
5766 include a need and merit-based grant, a need-based grant and a Charter 37
5867 Oak grant. The need and merit-based grant shall be funded at not less 38
5968 than twenty per cent but not more than thirty per cent of available funds 39
6069 or ten million dollars, whichever is greater. The need-based grant shall 40
6170 be funded at up to eighty per cent of available funds. The Charter Oak 41
6271 grant shall be not less than one hundred thousand dollars of available 42
6372 funds. There shall be an administrative allowance based on one-quarter 43
6473 of one per cent of the available funds, but not less than one hundred 44
6574 thousand dollars annually. The Office of Higher Education shall 45
75+Committee Bill No. 5
76+
77+
78+LCO No. 4633 3 of 7
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6680 disburse the funds appropriated or allocated for the Roberta B. Willis 46
6781 Scholarship program for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2024, and June 47
6882 30, 2025, to make awards pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and 48
69-allocate funds pursuant to subsections (d) and (f) of this section in 49 Substitute Bill No. 5
70-
71-
72-LCO 3 of 6
73-
83+allocate funds pursuant to subsections (d) and (f) of this section in 49
7484 accordance with a plan developed by the office, provided the office shall 50
7585 (1) disburse all funds allocated for the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship 51
7686 program from the federal funds designated for the state pursuant to the 52
7787 provisions of Section 602 of Subtitle M of Title IX of the American Rescue 53
7888 Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117-2, as amended from time to time, on or before 54
7989 December 31, 2024, and (2) in accordance with subsection (f) of section 55
8090 4-89, reserve an amount of not more than fifteen million dollars from the 56
8191 amount appropriated for the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program for 57
8292 the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, for disbursement during the fiscal 58
83-year ending June 30, 2026. 59
84-(c) The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship need and merit-based grant 60
85-shall be available to any eligible student at any public or independent 61
86-institution of higher education. The Office of Higher Education shall 62
87-determine qualification for financial need based on [family contribution 63
88-prior to July 1, 2024, and, on and after July 1, 2024, based on] the student 64
89-aid index and qualification for merit based on either previous high 65
90-school academic achievement or performance on standardized 66
91-academic aptitude tests. The Office of Higher Education shall make 67
92-awards according to a sliding scale, annually determined by said office, 68
93-up to a maximum [family contribution or] student aid index and based 69
94-on available funds and the number of eligible students who qualify for 70
95-an award. The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship need and merit-based grant 71
96-shall be awarded in a higher amount than the need-based grant 72
97-awarded pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. [, except for the 73
98-academic year commencing July 1, 2024.] Recipients of the need and 74
99-merit-based grant shall not be eligible to receive an additional need-75
100-based award. The order of institutions of higher education provided by 76
101-an eligible student on such student's Free Application for Federal 77
102-Student Aid shall not affect the student's qualification for an award 78
103-under this subsection. The institution of higher education in which an 79
104-eligible student enrolls shall disburse sums awarded under the need and 80
105-merit-based grant for payment of such student's eligible educational 81
106-costs. 82
107-(d) The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship need-based grant shall be 83 Substitute Bill No. 5
93+year ending June 30, 2026. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and 59
94+each fiscal year thereafter, the Office of Higher Education shall disburse 60
95+the funds appropriated for the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program 61
96+not later than May first annually for grants to be awarded during the 62
97+following fall semester and not later than November first annually for 63
98+grants to be awarded during the following spring semester. 64
99+(c) The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship need and merit-based grant 65
100+shall be available to any eligible student at any public or independent 66
101+institution of higher education. The Office of Higher Education shall 67
102+determine qualification for financial need based on [family contribution 68
103+prior to July 1, 2024, and, on and after July 1, 2024, based on] the student 69
104+aid index and qualification for merit based on either previous high 70
105+school academic achievement or performance on standardized 71
106+academic aptitude tests. The Office of Higher Education shall make 72
107+awards according to a sliding scale, annually determined by said office, 73
108+up to a maximum [family contribution or] student aid index and based 74
109+on available funds and the number of eligible students who qualify for 75
110+an award. The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship need and merit-based grant 76
111+shall be awarded in a higher amount than the need-based grant 77
112+awarded pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. [, except for the 78
113+academic year commencing July 1, 2024.] Recipients of the need and 79
114+Committee Bill No. 5
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109116
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112-available to any eligible student at any public or independent institution 84
113-of higher education. The amount of the annual funds to be allocated to 85
114-each institution of higher education shall be determined by its actual 86
115-full-time equivalent enrollment of eligible students with a [family 87
116-contribution or] student aid index during the fall semester of the fiscal 88
117-year two years prior to the grant year of an amount not greater than two 89
118-hundred per cent of the maximum [family contribution or] student aid 90
119-index eligible for a federal Pell grant award for the academic year one 91
120-year prior to the grant year. Not later than July first, annually, each 92
121-institution of higher education shall report such enrollment data to the 93
122-Office of Higher Education. Not later than October first, annually, the 94
123-Office of Higher Education shall (1) publish such enrollment data on its 95
124-Internet web site, (2) notify each institution of higher education of the 96
125-proportion of the annual funds that such institution of higher education 97
126-will receive the following fiscal year, and (3) publish the proportions for 98
127-each institution of higher education on its Internet web site. Not later 99
128-than November first, annually, the Office of Higher Education shall 100
129-notify each institution of higher education of the amount of funds 101
130-allocated to such institution for awards to eligible students during the 102
131-following fiscal year. Participating institutions of higher education shall 103
132-make awards (A) to eligible full-time students in an amount [up] equal 104
133-to four thousand five hundred dollars, and (B) to eligible part-time 105
134-students in an amount that is prorated according to the number of 106
135-credits each student will earn for completing the course or courses in 107
136-which such student is enrolled, such that a student enrolled in a course 108
137-or courses earning (i) at least nine but less than twelve credits is eligible 109
138-for up to seventy-five per cent of the [maximum] award amount for a 110
139-full-time student, and (ii) at least six but less than nine credits is eligible 111
140-for up to fifty per cent of the [maximum] award amount for a full-time 112
141-student. Each participating institution of higher education shall expend 113
142-all of the moneys received under the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship 114
143-program as direct financial assistance only for eligible educational costs. 115
144-(e) Participating institutions of higher education shall annually 116
145-provide the Office of Higher Education with data and reports on all 117 Substitute Bill No. 5
119+merit-based grant shall not be eligible to receive an additional need-80
120+based award. The order of institutions of higher education provided by 81
121+an eligible student on such student's Free Application for Federal 82
122+Student Aid shall not affect the student's qualification for an award 83
123+under this subsection. The institution of higher education in which an 84
124+eligible student enrolls shall disburse sums awarded under the need and 85
125+merit-based grant for payment of such student's eligible educational 86
126+costs. 87
127+(d) The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship need-based grant shall be 88
128+available to any eligible student at any public or independent institution 89
129+of higher education. The amount of the annual funds to be allocated to 90
130+each institution of higher education shall be determined by its actual 91
131+full-time equivalent enrollment of eligible students with a [family 92
132+contribution or] student aid index during the fall semester of the fiscal 93
133+year two years prior to the grant year of an amount not greater than two 94
134+hundred per cent of the maximum [family contribution or] student aid 95
135+index eligible for a federal Pell grant award for the academic year one 96
136+year prior to the grant year. Not later than July first, annually, each 97
137+institution of higher education shall report such enrollment data to the 98
138+Office of Higher Education. Not later than October first, annually, the 99
139+Office of Higher Education shall (1) publish such enrollment data on its 100
140+Internet web site, (2) notify each institution of higher education of the 101
141+proportion of the annual funds that such institution of higher education 102
142+will receive the following fiscal year, and (3) publish the proportions for 103
143+each institution of higher education on its Internet web site. 104
144+Participating institutions of higher education shall make awards (A) to 105
145+eligible full-time students in an amount [up] equal to four thousand five 106
146+hundred dollars, and (B) to eligible part-time students in an amount that 107
147+is prorated according to the number of credits each student will earn for 108
148+completing the course or courses in which such student is enrolled, such 109
149+that a student enrolled in a course or courses earning (i) at least nine but 110
150+less than twelve credits is eligible for up to seventy-five per cent of the 111
151+[maximum] award amount for a full-time student, and (ii) at least six 112
152+but less than nine credits is eligible for up to fifty per cent of the 113
153+Committee Bill No. 5
146154
147155
148-LCO 5 of 6
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149157
150-eligible students who applied for financial aid, including, but not 118
151-limited to, students receiving a Roberta B. Willis Scholarship grant, in a 119
152-form and at a time determined by said office. If an institution of higher 120
153-education fails to submit information to the Office of Higher Education 121
154-as directed, such institution shall be prohibited from participating in the 122
155-scholarship program in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which 123
156-such institution failed to submit such information. Each participating 124
157-institution of higher education shall maintain, for a period of not less 125
158-than three years, records substantiating the reported number of eligible 126
159-students and documentation utilized by the institution of higher 127
160-education in determining qualification of the student grant recipients. 128
161-Such records shall be subject to audit or review. [For the academic year 129
162-commencing July 1, 2024, the Office of Higher Education shall (1) not 130
163-require participating institutions of higher education to reduce the 131
164-amount of a need-based grant awarded to an eligible student based on 132
165-the initial qualifications determined from such student's Free 133
166-Application for Federal Student Aid, even if the United States 134
167-Department of Education subsequently revises such qualifications, and 135
168-(2) deem a participating institution of higher education to be in 136
169-compliance with this section if such initial qualifications qualified an 137
170-eligible student for the need-based grant that such student was 138
171-awarded.] Funds not obligated by an institution of higher education 139
172-shall be returned by [May] April first in the fiscal year the grant was 140
173-[made] to be awarded to an eligible student to the Office of Higher 141
174-Education for reallocation for the next fiscal year. Financial aid provided 142
175-to eligible students under this program shall be designated as a grant 143
176-from the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program. 144
177-(f) The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship Charter Oak grant shall be 145
178-available to any eligible student enrolled in Charter Oak State College. 146
179-The Office of Higher Education shall allocate any funds to Charter Oak 147
180-State College to be used to provide grants for eligible educational costs 148
181-to eligible students who demonstrate substantial financial need and 149
182-who are matriculated in a degree program at Charter Oak State College. 150
183-Individual awards shall not exceed a student's calculated eligible 151 Substitute Bill No. 5
158+[maximum] award amount for a full-time student. Each participating 114
159+institution of higher education shall expend all of the moneys received 115
160+under the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program as direct financial 116
161+assistance only for eligible educational costs. 117
162+(e) Participating institutions of higher education shall annually 118
163+provide the Office of Higher Education with data and reports on all 119
164+eligible students who applied for financial aid, including, but not 120
165+limited to, students receiving a Roberta B. Willis Scholarship grant, in a 121
166+form and at a time determined by said office. If an institution of higher 122
167+education fails to submit information to the Office of Higher Education 123
168+as directed, such institution shall be prohibited from participating in the 124
169+scholarship program in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which 125
170+such institution failed to submit such information. Each participating 126
171+institution of higher education shall maintain, for a period of not less 127
172+than three years, records substantiating the reported number of eligible 128
173+students and documentation utilized by the institution of higher 129
174+education in determining qualification of the student grant recipients. 130
175+Such records shall be subject to audit or review. [For the academic year 131
176+commencing July 1, 2024, the Office of Higher Education shall (1) not 132
177+require participating institutions of higher education to reduce the 133
178+amount of a need-based grant awarded to an eligible student based on 134
179+the initial qualifications determined from such student's Free 135
180+Application for Federal Student Aid, even if the United States 136
181+Department of Education subsequently revises such qualifications, and 137
182+(2) deem a participating institution of higher education to be in 138
183+compliance with this section if such initial qualifications qualified an 139
184+eligible student for the need-based grant that such student was 140
185+awarded.] Funds not obligated by an institution of higher education 141
186+shall be returned by [May] April first in the fiscal year the grant was 142
187+[made] to be awarded to an eligible student to the Office of Higher 143
188+Education for reallocation for the next fiscal year. Financial aid provided 144
189+to eligible students under this program shall be designated as a grant 145
190+from the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program. 146
191+Committee Bill No. 5
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188-educational costs. Financial aid provided to eligible students under this 152
189-program shall be designated as a grant from the Roberta B. Willis 153
190-Scholarship program. 154
191-(g) In administering the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program, the 155
192-Office of Higher Education shall develop and utilize fiscal procedures 156
193-designed to ensure accountability of the public funds expended. Such 157
194-procedures shall include provisions for compliance reviews that shall be 158
195-conducted by the Office of Higher Education on any institution of 159
196-higher education that participates in the program. Commencing with 160
197-the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, and biennially thereafter, each such 161
198-institution of higher education shall submit the results of an audit done 162
199-by an independent certified public accountant for each year of 163
200-participation in the program. Any institution of higher education 164
201-determined by the Office of Higher Education not to be in substantial 165
202-compliance with the provisions of the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship 166
203-program shall be ineligible to receive funds under the program for the 167
204-fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the institution of higher 168
205-education was determined not to be in substantial compliance. Funding 169
206-shall be restored when the Office of Higher Education determines that 170
207-the institution of higher education has returned to substantial 171
208-compliance. 172
196+(f) The Roberta B. Willis Scholarship Charter Oak grant shall be 147
197+available to any eligible student enrolled in Charter Oak State College. 148
198+The Office of Higher Education shall allocate any funds to Charter Oak 149
199+State College to be used to provide grants for eligible educational costs 150
200+to eligible students who demonstrate substantial financial need and 151
201+who are matriculated in a degree program at Charter Oak State College. 152
202+Individual awards shall not exceed a student's calculated eligible 153
203+educational costs. Financial aid provided to eligible students under this 154
204+program shall be designated as a grant from the Roberta B. Willis 155
205+Scholarship program. 156
206+(g) In administering the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program, the 157
207+Office of Higher Education shall develop and utilize fiscal procedures 158
208+designed to ensure accountability of the public funds expended. Such 159
209+procedures shall include provisions for compliance reviews that shall be 160
210+conducted by the Office of Higher Education on any institution of 161
211+higher education that participates in the program. Commencing with 162
212+the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, and biennially thereafter, each such 163
213+institution of higher education shall submit the results of an audit done 164
214+by an independent certified public accountant for each year of 165
215+participation in the program. Any institution of higher education 166
216+determined by the Office of Higher Education not to be in substantial 167
217+compliance with the provisions of the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship 168
218+program shall be ineligible to receive funds under the program for the 169
219+fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the institution of higher 170
220+education was determined not to be in substantial compliance. Funding 171
221+shall be restored when the Office of Higher Education determines that 172
222+the institution of higher education has returned to substantial 173
223+compliance. 174
209224 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
210225 sections:
211226
212227 Section 1 July 1, 2025 10a-173
213228
214-HED Joint Favorable Subst.
229+Committee Bill No. 5
230+
231+
232+LCO No. 4633 7 of 7
233+
234+Statement of Purpose:
235+To require (1) need-based grants under the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship
236+program to be equal to four thousand five hundred dollars per student,
237+and (2) the Office of Higher Education to disburse grants under the
238+Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program not later than the academic
239+semester preceding the academic semester in which such grants are to
240+be awarded to eligible students.
241+
242+[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
243+that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
244+underlined.]
245+
246+Co-Sponsors: SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.; SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist.
247+SEN. ANWAR, 3rd Dist.; SEN. CABRERA, 17th Dist.
248+SEN. COHEN, 12th Dist.; SEN. FLEXER, 29th Dist.
249+SEN. GADKAR-WILCOX, 22nd Dist.; SEN. GASTON, 23rd Dist.
250+SEN. HARTLEY, 15th Dist.; SEN. HOCHADEL, 13th Dist.
251+SEN. HONIG, 8th Dist.; SEN. KUSHNER, 24th Dist.
252+SEN. LESSER, 9th Dist.; SEN. LOPES, 6th Dist.
253+SEN. MAHER, 26th Dist.; SEN. MARONEY, 14th Dist.
254+SEN. MARX, 20th Dist.; SEN. MCCRORY, 2nd Dist.
255+SEN. MILLER P., 27th Dist.; SEN. NEEDLEMAN, 33rd Dist.
256+SEN. RAHMAN, 4th Dist.; SEN. SLAP, 5th Dist.
257+SEN. WINFIELD, 10th Dist.; REP. REYES, 75th Dist.
258+REP. KEITT, 134th Dist.
259+
260+S.B. 5
261+
215262