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Kansas House Bill HB2132

Kansas 2023-2024 Regular Session

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11 Session of 2023
22 HOUSE BILL No. 2132
33 By Committee on Appropriations
44 1-23
55 AN ACT concerning postsecondary education; relating to the Kansas
66 promise scholarship act; expanding the eligible fields of study;
77 establishing a maximum scholarship amount for certain private
88 postsecondary institutions; amending K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272,
99 74-32,273 and 74-32,274 and repealing the existing sections.
1010 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
1111 Section 1. K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272 is hereby amended to read as
1212 follows: 74-32,272. (a) There is hereby established the Kansas promise
1313 scholarship program. The state board of regents shall implement and
1414 administer the program.
1515 (b) On or before March 1, 2023, the state board of regents shall adopt
1616 rules and regulations to implement and administer the Kansas promise
1717 scholarship program. Such rules and regulations shall establish:
1818 (1) A scholarship application process, including, but not limited to,
1919 accepting scholarship applications throughout the academic year and
2020 processing such applications in the order such applications were received;
2121 (2) appeal procedures for denial or revocation of a Kansas promise
2222 scholarship;
2323 (3) guidelines to ensure as much as is practicable that, if a student
2424 who received a Kansas promise scholarship graduates from a promise
2525 eligible program and subsequently enrolls in a state educational institution,
2626 as defined in K.S.A. 76-711, and amendments thereto, or municipal
2727 university, any courses taken by such student shall be transferred to the
2828 state educational institution or municipal university and qualify toward the
2929 student's baccalaureate degree;
3030 (4) the terms, conditions and requirements that shall be incorporated
3131 into each Kansas promise scholarship agreement, which shall not be more
3232 stringent than the requirements for Kansas promise scholarship agreements
3333 provided in this act;
3434 (5) procedures for requesting and approving medical, military and
3535 personal absences from an eligible postsecondary educational institution
3636 while receiving a Kansas promise scholarship;
3737 (6) criteria for determining whether a student who received a Kansas
3838 promise scholarship fulfilled the residency, employment and repayment
3939 requirements included in a Kansas promise scholarship agreement as
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7676 provided in K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,276, and amendments thereto;
7777 (7) criteria for determining when a student who received a Kansas
7878 promise scholarship may be released from the requirements of a Kansas
7979 promise scholarship, if there are special circumstances that caused such
8080 student to be unable to complete such requirements; and
8181 (8) that no eligible postsecondary educational institution may:
8282 (A) Limit scholarship awards to certain promise eligible programs at
8383 such institution; or
8484 (B) award less than the full Kansas promise scholarship amount for
8585 which a student qualifies as long as funds are available in the Kansas
8686 promise scholarship program fund.
8787 (c) The state board of regents shall:
8888 (1) Identify the promise eligible programs offered by each eligible
8989 postsecondary educational institution that are:
9090 (A) Within a field of study designated by the eligible postsecondary
9191 educational institution pursuant to K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,273, and
9292 amendments thereto; and
9393 (B) in any of the following fields of study:
9494 (i) Information technology and security;
9595 (ii) mental and physical healthcare;
9696 (iii) advanced manufacturing and building trades; or
9797 (iv) early childhood education and development, elementary
9898 education and secondary education;
9999 (2) work with community partners, such as community foundations,
100100 school districts, postsecondary educational institutions, Kansas business
101101 and industry and Kansas economic development organizations to publicize
102102 Kansas promise scholarships, including, but not limited to, publicizing
103103 eligible postsecondary educational institutions, approved scholarship-
104104 eligible educational programs, application procedures and application
105105 deadlines;
106106 (3) disburse funds to each eligible postsecondary educational
107107 institution for the purpose of awarding Kansas promise scholarships;
108108 (4) request information from eligible postsecondary educational
109109 institutions and any state agency necessary for the administration of this
110110 act;
111111 (5) accept electronic signatures as sufficient and valid on all forms
112112 and agreements required by the Kansas promise scholarship program and
113113 any rules and regulations adopted thereunder;
114114 (6) enforce Kansas promise scholarship agreements;
115115 (7) collect any moneys repaid by students pursuant to K.S.A. 2022
116116 Supp. 74-32,276, and amendments thereto;
117117 (8) determine whether students who received a Kansas promise
118118 scholarship fulfill the residency, employment and repayment requirements
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162162 provided in K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,276, and amendments thereto; and
163163 (9) beginning in January 2022, annually evaluate the Kansas promise
164164 scholarship program and prepare and submit a report to the senate standing
165165 committee on education and the house of representatives standing
166166 committee on education. Such report shall include, but not be limited to,
167167 the total program cost for each promise eligible program at each eligible
168168 postsecondary educational institution, the amount of scholarship moneys
169169 awarded that went to each promise eligible program, the number of credit
170170 hours paid for with scholarship moneys, the amount of scholarship moneys
171171 expected to be awarded to each institution for each semester, the number
172172 of scholarships awarded, the total amount of scholarship moneys awarded,
173173 the amount of scholarship moneys provided for tuition, fees, books and
174174 supplies, measures postsecondary educational institutions have taken in
175175 working with private business and industry in the state to determine
176176 appropriate fields of study and a review of the employment of scholarship
177177 recipients who have completed the Kansas promise scholarship program,
178178 including, but not limited to, employment fields and geographic location
179179 of such employment.
180180 (d) (1) The state board of regents may designate an associate degree
181181 transfer program as an eligible program only if such program is included
182182 in:
183183 (A) An established 2+2 agreement with a Kansas four-year
184184 postsecondary educational institution; or
185185 (B) an articulation agreement with a Kansas four-year postsecondary
186186 educational institution and is part of an established degree pathway that
187187 allows a student to transfer at least 60 credit hours from the eligible
188188 postsecondary educational institution to a four-year postsecondary
189189 educational institution for the completion of an additional 60 credit hours
190190 toward a bachelor's degree.
191191 (2) The provisions of this subsection shall be construed and applied
192192 retroactively to the enactment of the Kansas promise scholarship program
193193 on July 1, 2021.
194194 (e) (1) The state board of regents may remove a promise eligible
195195 program from the list of approved promise eligible programs only in
196196 accordance with this subsection. If the state board of regents proposes to
197197 remove a promise eligible program from such list, the state board of
198198 regents shall notify all eligible postsecondary educational institutions of
199199 the proposal to remove such program by May 1 of the calendar year that
200200 precedes the calendar year in which such program would officially be
201201 removed from such list. Within 30 calendar days of receipt, each eligible
202202 postsecondary educational institution may appeal such proposed removal
203203 to the state board of regents. Following such appeal period, within 45
204204 calendar days, the state board of regents shall consider any such appeal
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248248 and issue a final decision upon whether the program shall be removed. If
249249 the state board of regents issues a final decision to remove such program,
250250 the program shall be removed from the list of approved promise eligible
251251 programs only after not less than 14 months have elapsed from the date
252252 that the state board of regents issued the final decision to remove such
253253 program.
254254 (2) The provisions of this subsection shall apply to any program that
255255 has been approved by the state board of regents as a promise eligible
256256 program on or after July 1, 2021.
257257 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,273 is hereby amended to read as
258258 follows: 74-32,273. (a) In addition to the fields of study provided in
259259 K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272, and amendments thereto, an eligible
260260 postsecondary educational institution may designate an additional field of
261261 study for awarding a Kansas promise scholarship to meet local
262262 employment needs if:
263263 (1) Promise eligible programs within such field of study are two-year
264264 associate degree programs or career and technical education certificates or
265265 stand-alone programs approved by the state board of regents that
266266 correspond to jobs that are high wage, high demand or critical need in the
267267 community;
268268 (2) the institution already offers such field of study; and
269269 (3) such field of study is one of the following:
270270 (A) Agriculture;
271271 (B) food and natural resources;
272272 (C) education and training;
273273 (D) law, public safety, corrections and security; or
274274 (E) transportation, distribution and logistics.
275275 (b) An eligible postsecondary educational institution that designates
276276 an additional promise eligible field of study pursuant to this section shall
277277 maintain the promise eligible field of study designation for at least three
278278 consecutive years. After maintaining such field of study for at least three
279279 years, the institution may designate a new promise eligible field of study
280280 that corresponds to a high wage, high demand or critical need occupation
281281 to replace the existing designated promise eligible field of study. Any
282282 newly designated field of study shall be subject to the requirements of this
283283 section.
284284 (c) Programs designated by eligible institutions prior to the effective
285285 date of this act shall be maintained until all students currently enrolled in
286286 such programs have exhausted their promise scholarship eligibility.
287287 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,274 is hereby amended to read as
288288 follows: 74-32,274. (a) (1) Subject to appropriations, the amount of a
289289 Kansas promise scholarship for a student for each academic year shall be
290290 determined as follows:
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334334 (1) For a student enrolled in a promise eligible program offered by
335335 an eligible public postsecondary educational institution described in
336336 K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,271(b)(1)(A) or (B), and amendments thereto, the
337337 scholarship amount shall be the aggregate amount of tuition, required fees
338338 and the cost of books and required materials for the promise eligible
339339 program at the eligible postsecondary educational institution for the
340340 academic year in which the student is enrolled and receiving the
341341 scholarship minus the aggregate amount of all other aid awarded to such
342342 student for such academic year.
343343 (2) If For a student is enrolled in a promise eligible program offered
344344 by an eligible private postsecondary educational institution described in
345345 K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,271(b)(1)(C), and amendments thereto, the
346346 scholarship amount shall be the aggregate amount of tuition, mandatory
347347 fees and the cost of books and materials for such program shall be minus
348348 the aggregate amount of all other aid awarded to such student for such
349349 academic year, except that a scholarship awarded pursuant to this
350350 paragraph shall not exceed the average cost of tuition, mandatory fees and
351351 the cost of books and materials for such promise eligible program when
352352 offered by an eligible public postsecondary educational institution
353353 described in K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,271(b)(1)(A) or (B), and
354354 amendments thereto.
355355 (b) Kansas promise scholarships shall only be awarded to an eligible
356356 student whose family household income equals $100,000 or less for a
357357 family of one or two, $150,000 or less for a family of three and, for
358358 household sizes above three, a household income that is equal to or less
359359 than the family of three amount plus $4,800 for each additional family
360360 member.
361361 (c) (1) Kansas promise scholarship awards shall be used only to pay
362362 for up to a total of 68 promise scholarship funded credit hours or a total of
363363 $20,000 in Kansas promise scholarship awards, whichever occurs first,
364364 over the lifetime of the student who received the Kansas promise
365365 scholarship award regardless of the eligible postsecondary educational
366366 institution such student attended.
367367 (2) Kansas promise scholarship awards shall not be used to fund:
368368 (A) Prerequisite classes required for a promise eligible program
369369 unless such classes are a designated course within the eligible program; or
370370 (B) any remedial course, as defined in K.S.A. 76-7,151, and
371371 amendments thereto, unless such course is offered in a corequisite format.
372372 (d) For each fiscal year, the appropriation made for the Kansas
373373 promise scholarship program shall not exceed $10,000,000.
374374 (e) The state board of regents shall disburse funds based on
375375 reimbursement requests from eligible postsecondary educational
376376 institutions. Reimbursement requests shall be based on the actual amount
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420420 of Kansas promise scholarship amounts awarded by an eligible
421421 postsecondary educational institution for the appropriate academic period.
422422 Any eligible postsecondary educational institution seeking reimbursement
423423 shall submit a reimbursement request to the state board of regents on or
424424 before September 1, December 1, March 1 and June 1 of each year. The
425425 state board of regents shall disburse the appropriate amount of funds to
426426 eligible postsecondary educational institutions on September 15,
427427 December 15, March 15 and June 15 each year.
428428 (f) As used in this section, "aid" includes any grant, scholarship or
429429 financial assistance awards that do not require repayment. "Aid" does not
430430 include any military financial educational benefits or any family
431431 postsecondary savings account or other qualified tuition program
432432 established pursuant to section 529 of the internal revenue code of 1986, as
433433 amended.
434434 Sec. 4. K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272, 74-32,273 and 74-32,274 are
435435 hereby repealed.
436436 Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
437437 publication in the Kansas register.
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