Makes students in workforce-ready certificate programs at the Community College of Rhode Island eligible to receive the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship.
Impact
If passed, S1042 would modify existing laws related to the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship, helping to improve educational access for more residents. This change would enable more individuals to seek job training and skill development that are crucial for today's job market. In a state with increasing emphasis on economic development, the bill frames educational investment as a pathway to better employability and workforce readiness. Such an initiative can potentially mitigate unemployment and underemployment rates by enhancing the skill set of its workforce.
Summary
The bill S1042 seeks to expand eligibility for the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship to students enrolled in workforce-ready certificate programs at the Community College of Rhode Island. This legislative move is aimed at promoting access to higher education and aligning workforce development efforts with educational opportunities, thereby enhancing the skills of the state's workforce. By including these certificate programs in the scholarship eligibility criteria, the bill aims to facilitate a smoother transition between education and employment for students in Rhode Island.
Contention
Despite the positive intentions behind SB1042, discussions around the bill may reveal concerns over funding and resource allocation. Stakeholders and legislators may voice apprehensions regarding the financial sustainability of expanding the scholarship program. There may be debates regarding whether funding for the expanded scholarships could detract from other educational or social programs. Meeting the increased demand for scholarships, alongside maintaining educational quality, could emerge as key points of contention within legislative discussions.
Extends the time for which a student may enroll in the community college of Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program to one year after the student's high school graduation.
Establishes the tuition waiver program for children in Rhode Island foster care program. The purpose would be to increase the number of youths in foster care enrolling in and obtaining degrees in a timely fashion from Rhode Island college.
To create the Alabama Fits All Scholarship Program; require the State Board of Education to contract with a program manager to administer the program; to authorize the program manager to establish scholarship accounts on behalf of eligible students; to prohibit a program manager from accepting scholarship funds in certain circumstances; to require fiscal safeguards and accountability measures; to require eligible schools and service providers to meet certain standards to be eligible to receive scholarship funds; to authorize the program manager to distribute scholarship funds; to require the State Board of Education to provide limited oversight of the program manager, including an appeal process for the program manager's administrative decisions; to prohibit certain regulations of eligible schools and eligible service providers; to require criminal history background information checks for employees and officers of a program manager; to provide for program funding; and to require the program manager and the board to submit reports on the program to the Legislature.