Enacting the Kansas adult learner grant act to facilitate workforce development by providing grants and workforce retention incentive tax credits to adults who pursue baccalaureate degrees from eligible postsecondary educational institutions in certain fields of study.
Impact
The legislation is expected to positively impact state laws governing education and workforce development. The Kansas Adult Learner Grant Act offers financial support by providing grants up to $3,000 per semester for eligible students enrolled in identified programs. These grants are awarded based on financial need, with specific income thresholds set to ensure that assistance is directed toward lower-income households. This initiative aligns with statewide goals to enhance the skilled workforce and foster economic development by raising educational levels among adults.
Summary
House Bill 2400 introduces the Kansas Adult Learner Grant Act, designed to enhance workforce development by supporting adult learners pursuing baccalaureate degrees in various high-demand fields. The bill establishes a grant program and provisions for workforce retention incentive payments aimed at individuals who are 25 years or older and reside in Kansas. By creating eligibility criteria based on age and residency, it promotes educational attainment among adult learners who may have faced barriers to higher education due to financial or personal responsibilities.
Contention
While the bill has garnered bipartisan support, there may be points of contention regarding its implementation and funding. Critics may raise concerns about the sufficiency of state appropriations to sustain the grant program in the long term, particularly as the program expands in response to increasing demand for qualified workers. Additionally, implementation challenges related to the identification of eligible programs and maintenance of quality standards among participating educational institutions could also arise, requiring oversight and intervention by the state board of regents.
Enacting the Kansas adult learner grant act to establish a grant program for adult learners to pursue certain fields of study, enacting the career technical education credential and transition incentive for employment success act to require school districts to pay for the cost of assessments for students to obtain an approved career technical education credential, designating military veterans and spouses or dependents of such veterans who were stationed in Kansas for at least 11 months as residents for purposes of tuition and fees at postsecondary educational institutions and expanding the eligible fields of study under the Kansas promise scholarship act.
Promoting Kansas workforce development by enacting the Kansas apprenticeship act to expand apprenticeships with businesses, healthcare organizations and nonprofit organizations through tax credits and grants and to develop teaching apprenticeships with public schools through scholarships for professional teaching degrees and by establishing a program to provide matching grants to public and private professional engineering schools for engineering scholarships and program development costs.
Expanding the eligible fields of study and establishing a maximum scholarship amount for certain private postsecondary educational institutions in the Kansas promise scholarship act.
Relating to the establishment of the Texas Returning Adult Student Grant Program for certain students enrolled in baccalaureate degree programs at certain postsecondary educational institutions.
Relating to the establishment of the Texas Returning Adult Student Grant Program for certain students enrolled in baccalaureate degree programs at certain postsecondary educational institutions.
A bill for an act relating to workforce development, including establishing the Iowa workforce grant and incentive program and modifying the responsibilities of the Iowa workforce development board and the state board of regents.(Formerly HF 6.)