By clarifying the classification of the College Crusade Scholarship, this legislation seeks to enhance access to educational funding for students in Rhode Island, particularly those who might benefit from both the College Crusade program and the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship. This dual support can help alleviate the financial burdens of higher education, promoting increased enrollment and retention rates among students from low-income backgrounds. Overall, the bill reflects a commitment to supporting educational opportunities and could potentially increase the number of post-secondary graduates in the state.
Summary
S0070, titled The College Crusade Scholarship, proposes amendments to the existing Rhode Island educational statutes to redefine how scholarships from the College Crusade program are treated concerning state financial aid provisions. Specifically, the bill stipulates that any scholarships received directly from the College Crusade Scholarship Program should not count as federal or state financial aid when calculating eligibility for the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship. This adjustment is aimed at ensuring participants in the College Crusade can still qualify for additional state funding without having their scholarships deducted from their total aid packages.
Contention
While the text of the bill does not reveal any explicit points of contention, amendments to financial aid structures often raise concerns among various stakeholders. Critics might argue that changes could complicate funding mechanisms or create disparities in how different student groups access financial support. Additionally, there could be discussions regarding the long-term sustainability of such scholarship programs and their impact on the overall budget of the state education system. Ensuring that the benefits of the College Crusade do not overshadow or hinder the funding available for the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship might also be a point of debate in legislative discussions.
Changes the name of The College Crusade Scholarship to the Onward We Learn Scholarship and provide that those scholarships would not be considered federal or financial aid with regard to the Promise Scholarship or Hope Scholarship Pilot Program.
Changes the name of The College Crusade Scholarship to the Onward We Learn Scholarship and provide that those scholarships would not be considered federal or financial aid with regard to the Promise Scholarship or Hope Scholarship Pilot Program.
Requires any remaining funds in the enacted budget from the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program or the Rhode Island Hope Scholarship program to be reimbursed to the onward we learn for any scholarships paid on behalf of Rhode Island College students.
Requires any remaining funds in the enacted budget from the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program or the Rhode Island Hope Scholarship program to be reimbursed to the onward we learn for any scholarships paid on behalf of Rhode Island College students.
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.