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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1277 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 830
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Edward J. Kennedy
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act protecting students and increasing accountability at Massachusetts colleges and
universities.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Edward J. KennedyFirst Middlesex 1 of 2
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1277 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 830
By Mr. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 830) of Edward J. Kennedy for
legislation to reform institutional eligibility requirements for state-based financial aid. Higher
Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 840 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act protecting students and increasing accountability at Massachusetts colleges and
universities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Section 16 of Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
2Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph:-
3 No state scholarship funds under this section, any other section of this chapter, or other
4state student financial aid however provided, shall be made available to, or on behalf, of any
5student enrolled in any postsecondary educational institution which the board of Higher
6Education determines does not meet the requirements of this paragraph. To meet the
7requirements of this paragraph, a postsecondary educational institution shall demonstrate to the
8board that it has: (i) graduation rates of not less than 30 per cent for undergraduate students
9taking 150 per cent or less of the expected time to complete degree requirements, as most 2 of 2
10recently reported by the U.S. Department of Higher Education, provided, that graduation rates
11shall include students who transfer; or (ii) an average 3 year cohort default rate that is not more
12than 20 per cent, as most recently reported by the U.S. Department of Education. The board of
13Higher Education shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement this paragraph including,
14but not limited to, procedures and processes for annually determining which postsecondary
15educational institutions meet the requirements of this paragraph, and a process for an institution
16to appeal a determination that they do not meet the necessary requirements. The board of higher
17education shall annually post a list of institutions that meet the requirements of this paragraph on
18the Department of Higher Education’s website.