Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5791 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5	2023 -- H 5791
6	6	========
7	7	LC001719
8	8	========
9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Giraldo, Morales, Cruz, and Potter
17	17	Date Introduced: February 22, 2023
18	18	Referred To: House Finance
19	19
20	20
21	21	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
22	22	SECTION 1. Sections 16-107-2, 16-107-4, 16-107-5, 16-107-6, 16-107-7 and 16-107-8 of 1
23	23	the General Laws in Chapter 16-107 entitled "Rhode Island Promise Scholarship" are hereby 2
24	24	amended to read as follows: 3
25	25	16-107-2. Legislative findings and purpose. 4
26	26	(a) The general assembly finds and declares that: 5
27	27	(1) Education is critical for the state's young people to achieve their dreams and develop 6
28	28	their talents; 7
29	29	(2) The state's economic success depends on a highly educated and skilled workforce; and 8
30	30	(3) The state's future prosperity depends upon its ability to make educational opportunities 9
31	31	beyond high school available for all students as part of a free public education. 10
32	32	(b) In order to address the findings set forth in subsection (a), the purpose of this chapter 11
33	33	is to increase the number of students enrolling in and completing degrees on time from the 12
34	34	community college of Rhode Island a public or private higher education facility in Rhode Island. 13
35	35	16-107-4. Definitions. 14
36	36	When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 15
37	37	(1) "ADA" means the American with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., as may 16
38	38	be amended from time to time; 17
39	39	(2) "FAFSA" means the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form; 18
40	40	(3) “Higher education facility” means any public or private institution of postsecondary 19
41	41
42	42
43	43	LC001719 - Page 2 of 7
44	44	education in Rhode Island, including, but not limited to, institutions licensed, regulated, or given 1
45	45	oversight by the council on postsecondary education and the office of the postsecondary 2
46	46	commissioner, as well as any workforce licensing or certificate programs licensed, regulated, or 3
47	47	given oversight by the council on postsecondary education and the office of the postsecondary 4
48	48	commissioner. 5
49	49	(3)(4) "Mandatory fees and tuition" are the costs that every student is required to pay in 6
50	50	order to enroll in classes, and does not include room and board, textbooks, program fees that may 7
51	51	exist in some majors, course fees that may exist for some specific courses, meal plans, or travel; 8
52	52	(4)(5) "On track to graduate on time" means the standards determined by the community 9
53	53	college of Rhode Island higher education facility in establishing the expectation of a student to 10
54	54	graduate with an associate's degree within two (2) years of enrollment or a bachelor's degree within 11
55	55	four (4) years of enrollment or within the time a student enrolled in a program at a higher education 12
56	56	facility to obtain a license or certificate would be expected to complete the program (recognizing 13
57	57	that some students, including students who require developmental education, are double majors, or 14
58	58	are enrolled in certain professional programs may require an extended time period for degree or 15
59	59	license or certificate completion); 16
60	60	(5)(6) "Reasonable accommodations" means any necessary modifications or adjustment to 17
61	61	a facility, equipment, program, or manner of operation as required by the Americans with 18
62	62	Disabilities Act ("ADA") and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, as 19
63	63	may be amended from time to time; 20
64	64	(6)(7) "Recipient student" means a student attending the community college of Rhode 21
65	65	Island a higher education facility who qualifies to receive the Rhode Island promise scholarship 22
66	66	pursuant to § 16-107-6; 23
67	67	(7)(8)"Scholarship program" means the Rhode Island promise scholarship program that is 24
68	68	established pursuant to § 16-107-3; 25
69	69	(8)(9) "State" means the state of Rhode Island; and 26
70	70	(9)(10) "Student with a disability" means any student otherwise eligible pursuant to § 16-27
71	71	107-6 who has a physical, developmental, or hidden disability or disabilities, as defined in § 42-28
72	72	87-1, that would create a hardship or other functional obstacles preventing participation in this 29
73	73	program; and 30
74	74	(11) "The uniform Rhode Island promise scholarship application" means the form prepared 31
75	75	by the office of the postsecondary commissioner in Rhode Island and approved by the council on 32
76	76	postsecondary education. 33
77	77	16-107-5. Administration of scholarship program. 34
78	78
79	79
80	80	LC001719 - Page 3 of 7
81	81	(a) The financial aid office, in conjunction with the office of enrollment management or 1
82	82	their respective equivalent offices, at the community college of Rhode Island higher education 2
83	83	facility, shall administer the scholarship program for state residents seeking associate or higher 3
84	84	degrees who meet the eligibility requirements in this chapter. 4
85	85	(b) An award of the scholarship program shall cover be the amount that is equal to the 5
86	86	average the cost of two (2) years of tuition at an area community college as calculated by the office 6
87	87	of the postsecondary commissioner, readjusted annually, and mandatory fees, less federal and all 7
88	88	other financial aid monies available to the recipient student. No grant received by students from the 8
89	89	College Crusade Scholarship Act as established in chapter 70 of this title shall be considered federal 9
90	90	or financial aid for the purposes of this chapter. 10
91	91	(c) The scholarship program is limited to one award per student as required by § 16-107-11
92	92	6(a)(7). 12
93	93	16-107-6. Eligibility for scholarship. 13
94	94	(a) Beginning with the students who enroll at the community college of Rhode Island a 14
95	95	higher education facility in the fall of 2017, to be considered for the scholarship, a student: 15
96	96	(1) Must qualify for in-state tuition and fees pursuant to the residency policy adopted by 16
97	97	the council on postsecondary education, as amended, supplemented, restated, or otherwise modified 17
98	98	from time to time ("residency policy"); provided, that, the student must have satisfied the high 18
99	99	school graduation/equivalency diploma condition prior to reaching nineteen (19) years of age; 19
100	100	provided, further, that in addition to the option of meeting the requirement by receiving a high 20
101	101	school equivalency diploma as described in the residency policy, the student can satisfy the 21
102	102	condition by receiving other certificates or documents of equivalent nature from the state or its 22
103	103	municipalities as recognized by applicable regulations promulgated by the council on elementary 23
104	104	and secondary education; 24
105	105	(2) Must be admitted to, and must enroll and attend the community college of Rhode Island 25
106	106	a higher education facility as defined in this chapter, on a full-time basis by the semester 26
107	107	immediately following high school graduation or the semester immediately following receipt of a 27
108	108	high school equivalency diploma; 28
109	109	(3) Must complete the FAFSA and any required FAFSA verification, or for persons who 29
110	110	are legally unable to complete the FAFSA must complete a comparable form created by the 30
111	111	community college of Rhode Island higher education facility, by the deadline prescribed by the 31
112	112	community college of Rhode Island higher education facility for each year in which the student 32
113	113	seeks to receive funding under the scholarship program; 33
114	114	(4) Must continue to be enrolled on a full-time basis; 34
115	115
116	116
117	117	LC001719 - Page 4 of 7
118	118	(5) Must maintain an average annual cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or 1
119	119	greater, as determined by the community college of Rhode Island higher education facility; 2
120	120	(6) Must remain on track to graduate on time as determined by the community college of 3
121	121	Rhode Island higher education facility; 4
122	122	(7) Must not have already received an award under this scholarship program; and 5
123	123	(8) Must commit to live, work, or continue their education in Rhode Island after graduation. 6
124	124	The community college of Rhode Island higher education facilities shall develop a policy 7
125	125	that will secure this commitment from recipient students; and 8
126	126	(9) Must complete and submit the uniform Rhode Island promise scholarship application. 9
127	127	(b) Notwithstanding the eligibility requirements under subsection (a) of this section 10
128	128	("specified conditions"): 11
129	129	(1) In the case of a recipient student who has an approved medical or personal leave of 12
130	130	absence or is unable to satisfy one or more specified conditions because of the student's medical or 13
131	131	personal circumstances, the student may continue to receive an award under the scholarship 14
132	132	program upon resuming the student's education so long as the student continues to meet all other 15
133	133	applicable eligibility requirements; 16
134	134	(2) In the case of a recipient student who is a member of the national guard or a member 17
135	135	of a reserve unit of a branch of the United States military and is unable to satisfy one or more 18
136	136	specified conditions because the student is or will be in basic or special military training, or is or 19
137	137	will be participating in a deployment of the student's guard or reserve unit, the student may continue 20
138	138	to receive an award under the scholarship program upon completion of the student's basic or special 21
139	139	military training or deployment; and 22
140	140	(3) Any student with a disability, otherwise eligible for a scholarship pursuant to the 23
141	141	provisions of this section, as of May 15, 2021, shall be entitled to access this program and shall be 24
142	142	afforded all reasonable accommodations, as required by the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 25
143	143	1973, including, but not limited to, enrolling on a part-time basis, attaining a high school 26
144	144	diploma/GED by age twenty-one (21), and taking longer than two (2) years to graduate with an 27
145	145	associate's degree, or continue their education to attain a bachelor's degree or higher degree. 28
146	146	16-107-7. Reporting and disbursement. 29
147	147	(a) On or before November 10 and May 10 of each fiscal year following fiscal year 2017, 30
148	148	the community college of Rhode Island each higher education facility in Rhode Island where 31
149	149	students matriculate and use funds of a promise scholarship shall submit a report to the director of 32
150	150	the office of management and budget, the state budget officer, the house fiscal advisor, the senate 33
151	151	fiscal advisor, the commissioner of postsecondary education, and the chair of the council on 34
152	152
153	153
154	154	LC001719 - Page 5 of 7
155	155	postsecondary education detailing the number of students eligible to participate in the scholarship 1
156	156	program, the amount of federal and institutional financial aid anticipated to be received by recipient 2
157	157	students, the aggregate tuition and mandatory fee costs attributable to recipient students, and the 3
158	158	resulting total cost of the scholarship program to the state. The report shall contain such data for 4
159	159	both the current fiscal year and the most up-to-date forecast for the following fiscal year. Data 5
160	160	reported shall be subdivided by student-year cohort and shall be accompanied by a written 6
161	161	explanation detailing the estimating methodology utilized and any impact(s) the forecasted data 7
162	162	may present to institutional capacity, operational costs, and the tuition/fee revenue base of the 8
163	163	institution. 9
164	164	(b) On or before July 1, 2020, and annually on or before July 1 thereafter, the community 10
165	165	college of Rhode Island council on postsecondary education and the commissioner of 11
166	166	postsecondary education shall submit a report evaluating the program based on the first two cohorts 12
167	167	to the governor, speaker of the house, and the president of the senate. This evaluation shall include 13
168	168	the following: 14
169	169	(1) The number of students who started in each cohort group; 15
170	170	(2) The number of students in each cohort group who have attained a degree or certification 16
171	171	in an on-time manner; 17
172	172	(3) The number of students in each cohort group who have not attained a degree or 18
173	173	certification in an on-time manner and an analysis of why that has happened; 19
174	174	(4) The number of students in each cohort group who began the program but have been 20
175	175	unable to continue or complete the program and an analysis of why that has happened; 21
176	176	(5) The costs of the program and the costs of continuing the program; 22
177	177	(6) Suggestions for ways to increase the success of the program; 23
178	178	(7) Recommendations as to modifying, continuing, expanding, curtailing, or discontinuing 24
179	179	the program; and 25
180	180	(8) Any such other recommendations or information as the community college of Rhode 26
181	181	Island council on postsecondary education and the commissioner of postsecondary education deem 27
182	182	appropriate to include in the evaluation. 28
183	183	(c) The office of management and budget, in consultation with the office of the 29
184	184	postsecondary commissioner, shall oversee the apportionment and disbursement of all funds 30
185	185	appropriated for the purpose of the scholarship program. 31
186	186	16-107-8. Rules and procedures. 32
187	187	The council on postsecondary education is hereby authorized to promulgate rules to 33
188	188	effectuate the purposes of this chapter and the community college of Rhode Island shall establish 34
189	189
190	190
191	191	LC001719 - Page 6 of 7
192	192	appeal procedures for the award, denial, or revocation of funding under the scholarship program. 1
193	193	The rules shall be promulgated in accordance with § 16-59-4. 2
194	194	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2024. 3
195	195	========
196	196	LC001719
197	197	========
198	198
199	199
200	200	LC001719 - Page 7 of 7
201	201	EXPLANATION
202	202	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
203	203	OF
204	204	A N A C T
205	205	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP
206	206	***
207	207	This act would expand the promise scholarship program to allow a student who is eligible 1
208	208	to receive funds under the Rhode Island promise scholarship to use the same funds at most public 2
209	209	or private institutions of postsecondary education in Rhode Island. 3
210	210	This act would take effect on January 1, 2024. 4
211	211	========
212	212	LC001719
213	213	========