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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1410
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5510
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO SUPPORT PROMISE
PROGRAMS IN THE STATE.
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, "promise 1
program" means a scholarship program that, in addition to a 2
scholarship, provides services and resources, including, but not limited 3
to, mentoring, peer support networks and internships, to scholarship 4
recipients to ensure the postsecondary academic success of such 5
recipients. 6
(b) There is established a task force to study options for developing a 7
state-wide initiative to expand college access and support success of 8
students in the state. Such study shall include, but need not be limited 9
to, (1) an examination of existing scholarship programs in the state, (2) 10
research and documentation of the unmet needs of students in the state, 11
and (3) specification of strategies for expanding comprehensive 12
scholarship services provided by promise programs, including, but not 13
limited to, through establishment of a public-private partnership to 14
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coordinate such services state-wide. 15
(c) The task force shall consist of the following members: 16
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 17
one of whom has expertise in college financial aid services and one of 18
whom represents a promise program in the city of Hartford; 19
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 20
whom has expertise in college admissions and one of whom represents 21
a promise program in the city of New Haven; 22
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 23
Representatives, who is a student or graduate of an institution of higher 24
education in the state and participates or participated in a promise 25
program; 26
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who is student 27
or graduate of an institution of higher education in the state and is a 28
recipient of a federal Pell grant; 29
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 30
Representatives, who is a school guidance counselor at a high school in 31
an alliance district in an urban or suburban area of the state; 32
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who is a 33
school guidance counselor at a high school in an alliance district in a 34
rural area of the state; 35
(7) The Commissioner of Higher Education, or the commissioner's 36
designee; and 37
(8) The executive director of the Connecticut Higher Education 38
Supplemental Loan Authority, or the executive director's designee. 39
(d) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 40
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (c) of this section may be a member of 41
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the General Assembly. 42
(e) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 43
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 44
be filled by the appointing authority. 45
(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 46
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 47
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 48
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 49
days after the effective date of this section. 50
(g) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 51
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 52
education shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 53
(h) Not later than January 1, 2026, the task force shall submit a report 54
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 55
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 56
education and employment advancement, in accordance with the 57
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall 58
terminate on the date that it submits such report or January 1, 2026, 59
whichever is later. 60
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a task force to (1) examine existing scholarship programs in
the state, (2) research and document the unmet needs of students in the
state, and (3) specify strategies for expansion of comprehensive
scholarship services provided by promise programs.
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[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.]