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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (202 4)
31	31
32	32	HOUSE BILL 2971 By: West (Rick)
33	33
34	34
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37	37
38	38	AS INTRODUCED
39	39
40	40	An Act relating to the Oklahoma Higher Learning
41	41	Access Program; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2603,
42	42	which relates to program eligibility; establishing
43	43	minimum ACT score for all students; and providing an
44	44	effective date.
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50	50	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
51	51	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2 021, Section 2603, is
52	52	amended to read as fol lows:
53	53	Section 2603. A. Except as otherwise provided for in
54	54	subsection B of this section and elsewhere in this section, to be
55	55	eligible to participate in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access
56	56	Program and to qualify for an award which include s payment of an
57	57	amount equivalent to resident tuition or other tuition pursuant to
58	58	Section 2604 of this title for the first semester or other academic
59	59	unit of postsecondary enrollment, a student shall:
60	60	1. Be a resident of this s tate or be enrolled in a sc hool
61	61	district located in this state that serves students who reside in
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88	88	both this state and an adjacent state pursuant to a contract as
89	89	authorized in Section 5 -117.1 of this title;
90	90	2. Be a United States citizen or lawfully presen t in the United
91	91	States. A student who is not a United States citizen or lawfully
92	92	present in the United States shall not be eligible to participate in
93	93	the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program and to qualify for an
94	94	award notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3242 of this title .
95	95	The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any student who
96	96	was enrolled in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program prior to
97	97	the end of the 2006-2007 school year;
98	98	3. Have a record of satisfactory compliance with a greements
99	99	executed pursuant to Section 2605 of this title;
100	100	4. a. have Have graduated within the previous three (3)
101	101	years from a high school accredited by the State Board
102	102	of Education, or the Oklahoma School of Science and
103	103	Mathematics with a minimum 2.5 cumul ative grade point
104	104	average on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted in
105	105	grades nine through twelve ,
106	106	b. have graduated within the previous three (3) years
107	107	from or a high school not accredited by the State
108	108	Board of Education with a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade
109	109	point average on a 4.0 scale for al l work attempted in
110	110	grades nine through twelve and have achieved a
111	111	composite score of 22 or higher on the ACT test, or
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138	138	c. have
139	139	b. Have satisfactorily completed within the previous
140	140	three (3) years an educational program t hat was
141	141	provided through a means other than a public or
142	142	private school and have achieved a composite score of
143	143	22 or higher on the ACT test;
144	144	5. Have completed the curricular requirements for admission to
145	145	an institution within The Oklahoma State System of H igher Education
146	146	and one additional unit or s et of competencies in a course that
147	147	meets college admission requirements. The curriculum requirements
148	148	shall include two units or sets of competencies in foreign or non -
149	149	English language or technology courses that meet the college
150	150	admission requirements and one unit or set of competencies of a fine
151	151	arts course. Students shall also have attained a 2.5 grade point
152	152	average in the core curriculum courses. Students who attended a
153	153	high school which did not offer all th e core curriculum courses or
154	154	students who were educated by other means and were not offered all
155	155	the core curriculum courses shall be allowed to satisfy this
156	156	curriculum requirement by participating in a program approved by the
157	157	State Regents for remediation of high school curricular
158	158	deficiencies;
159	159	6. Have satisfied admission standards as determined by the
160	160	Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for first -time-entering
161	161	students for the appropriate type of institution, or, if attending a
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188	188	private institution, have satisfied admission standards as
189	189	determined by the private institution. No student participating in
190	190	the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program shall be admitted into
191	191	an institution of higher education by special admission standards;
192	192	7. Have secured admission to, and enrolled in, an institu tion
193	193	which is a member of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education,
194	194	a postsecondary vocat ional-technical program offered by a technology
195	195	center school that meets the requirements to be eligible for federal
196	196	student financial aid, or a private instituti on of higher learning
197	197	located within this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of
198	198	this title; and
199	199	8. a. have established financial need according to the
200	200	provisions of subsection D of Section 2605 of this
201	201	title and standards and provisions promulga ted by the
202	202	Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education,
203	203	b. if the student was adopted between birth and twelve
204	204	(12) years of age while in the permanent custody of
205	205	the Department of Human Services, in the court -ordered
206	206	custody of a licensed private nonprofi t child-placing
207	207	agency, or federally recognized Indian tribe, as
208	208	defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, have
209	209	established financial need according to the provisions
210	210	of paragraph 1 of subsection E of Sect ion 2605 of this
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237	237	title and standards and pro visions promulgated by the
238	238	Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, or
239	239	c. if the student was adopted between thirteen (13) and
240	240	seventeen (17) years of age while in the permanent
241	241	custody of the Department of H uman Services, in the
242	242	court-ordered custody of a licensed private nonprofit
243	243	child-placing agency, or federally recognized Indian
244	244	tribe, as defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare
245	245	Act, have established financial need according to the
246	246	provisions of paragraph 2 of subsection E of Section
247	247	2605 of this title and standards and provisions
248	248	promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
249	249	Education.
250	250	B. 1. A student shall be eligible to participate in the
251	251	Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program and to quali fy for an award
252	252	which includes payment of an amount equivalent to resident tuition
253	253	or other tuition pursuant to Section 2604 of this title for the
254	254	first semester or other academic unit of postsecondary enrollment if
255	255	the student meets all of the following c riteria:
256	256	a. is a child of any person killed after January 1, 2000,
257	257	in the line of duty in any branch of the United States
258	258	Armed Forces or who died after January 1, 2000, as a
259	259	result of an injury sustained while in the line of
260	260	duty in any branch of the Unit ed States Armed Forces
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287	287	and the person who wa s killed or died filed an
288	288	individual or joint Oklahoma income tax return for the
289	289	tax year prior to the year during which the person was
290	290	killed or died,
291	291	b. is a resident of this state or is enrolled in a school
292	292	district located in this state that serves stu dents
293	293	who reside in both this state and an adjacent state
294	294	pursuant to a contract as authorized in Section 5 -
295	295	117.1 of this title,
296	296	c. enrolls in an institution within The Oklahoma State
297	297	System of Higher Education p rior to reaching the age
298	298	of twenty-one (21),
299	299	d. has satisfied admission standards as determined by the
300	300	Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for first -
301	301	time-entering students for the appropriate type of
302	302	institution, or, if attending a private institut ion,
303	303	has satisfied admission standards as de termined by the
304	304	private institution. No student participating in the
305	305	Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program shall be
306	306	admitted into an institution of higher education by
307	307	special admission standards,
308	308	e. has secured admission to, and enrolled in, an
309	309	institution which is a member of The Oklahoma State
310	310	System of Higher Education, a postsecondary
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337	337	vocational-technical program offered by a technology
338	338	center school that meets the requirements to be
339	339	eligible for federal s tudent financial aid, or a
340	340	private institution of higher learning located within
341	341	this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of
342	342	this title, and
343	343	f. executes an agreement pursuant to subsection C of
344	344	Section 2605 of this title.
345	345	2. A student who is eli gible to participate in the program
346	346	pursuant to this subsection shall not be required to meet the
347	347	eligibility requirements set forth in subsection A of this section.
348	348	C. To retain eligibility while pursuing the program of higher
349	349	learning in which enrolled, the student shall:
350	350	1. Meet the requirement s for retention and degree completion as
351	351	established by the institution in which the student is enrolled;
352	352	2. Maintain good academic standing and satisfactory academic
353	353	progress according to standards of the Oklah oma State Regents for
354	354	Higher Education;
355	355	3. Maintain satisfactory academic progress as required for
356	356	eligibility for federal Title IV student financial aid programs.
357	357	The provisions of this paragraph shall become effective for the
358	358	2012-2013 school year;
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385	385	4. Comply with the standards related to mainte nance of
386	386	eligibility as promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
387	387	Education; and
388	388	5. Refrain from conduct that leads to expulsion or suspension
389	389	of more than one semester from an institution of higher e ducation.
390	390	A student who violates the provis ions of this paragraph shall
391	391	permanently lose eligibility for program benefits. The provisions
392	392	of this paragraph shall become effective January 1, 2008.
393	393	D. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and th e
394	394	State Board of Career and Technology Educa tion shall promulgate
395	395	rules relating to maintenance of eligibility under the Oklahoma
396	396	Higher Learning Access Act by a student.
397	397	E. It is the intent of the Legislature that students in the
398	398	ninth grade for the 1992 -93 school year who are determined to be
399	399	eligible Oklahoma Higher Learning Access students pursuant to the
400	400	Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Act shall be the first students
401	401	eligible for benefits from the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Trust
402	402	Fund.
403	403	F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education ar e
404	404	authorized to study, develop and propose criteria for determining
405	405	award eligibility based upon the completion of seven semesters of
406	406	high school coursework by a student.
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433	433	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
434	434
435	435	59-2-8541 EK 11/06/23

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2971 Compare Versions