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S1477..........................................................by EDUCATION IDAHO MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FUND - Amends existing law to transfer lottery dividends from the Permanent Building Fund to the Idaho Merit Student Scholarship Fund, to establish the Idaho Merit Student Scholarship Fund and to provide that the moneys in the fund may be expended to provide $1,000 scholarships to Idaho high school students who graduate with a "B" or better grade point average and who are going to attend an in-state tax supported higher educational institution. 02/16 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/17 Rpt prt - to Educ
S1477|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1477 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO AN IDAHO MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FUND; AMENDING SECTION 67-7434, IDAHO 3 CODE, TO TRANSFER LOTTERY DIVIDENDS FROM THE PERMANENT BUILDING FUND TO 4 THE IDAHO MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND TO DELETE ARCHAIC LANGUAGE; AND 5 AMENDING CHAPTER 1, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 6 33-107C, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH THE IDAHO MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND TO 7 PROVIDE WHAT MONEYS IN THE FUND MAY BE EXPENDED FOR; AND PROVIDING EFFEC- 8 TIVE DATES. 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 10 SECTION 1. That Section 67-7434, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 11 amended to read as follows: 12 67-7434. LOTTERY DIVIDENDS. Annually, on July 1, the lottery shall trans- 13 fer one-half (1/2) of its net income to thepermanent building account14Idaho merit scholarship fund created by section 33-107C, Idaho 15 Code, and one-half (1/2) of its net income to the school district 16 building account, after reserving sufficient moneys to ensure the continuation 17 of the lottery, as determined by the director and commission. 18A one (1) time allotment of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000)19of the lottery's first year dividends shall be allocated and used by the per-20manent building fund advisory council for the construction of a Vietnam vet-21erans memorial in the state.22 SECTION 2. That Chapter 1, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 23 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION , to be 24 known and designated as Section 33-107C, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 25 33-107C. IDAHO MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FUND. There is hereby established the 26 Idaho merit scholarship fund to be administered by the state board of educa- 27 tion. Moneys in the fund shall consist of those transferred from section 28 67-7434, Idaho Code, grants, donations, federal funds, state appropriations 29 and funds from any other source. The state treasurer shall invest the proceeds 30 of the fund and any interest received from those investments shall be returned 31 to the fund. The purpose of the fund is to provide college scholarships to 32 graduates of Idaho high schools who graduated with a 3.0 ("B") on a 4.0 scale 33 or home schooled students who receive a score that is at or above the seventy- 34 fifth percentile rating on the SAT or ACT college admission test, and who 35 attend a state-supported college or university inside Idaho. Any state-sup- 36 ported college or university is directed to match the amount of the award 37 given to a student pursuant to this section. Scholarships shall be one thou- 38 sand dollars ($1,000) per student per year, shall be used to pay academic fees 39 at institutions, and shall be renewable for a four (4) academic year period as 40 long as the student maintains a 3.0 (B) average at the college or university. 41 If a student falls below a 3.0 (B) grade point average for the freshman year 2 1 or first year, the student may continue at his own expense. If the student 2 earns a cumulative 3.0 (B) or better grade point average at the end of the 3 sophomore or second year, the student may reapply for the scholarship for the 4 junior or third year and if satisfactory grades and academic progress are 5 attained they may apply for the senior year. 6 Students who did not meet the criteria to be awarded a scholarship pursu- 7 ant to this section may apply for a scholarship pursuant to this section if 8 they have attained a 3.0 or B average during their first year of college at a 9 state-supported college or university in this state. 10 Each recipient of a merit scholarship shall: 11 (1) Be accepted for admission in the regular undergraduate program at an 12 eligible institution in the state; 13 (2) Be a resident of the state; 14 (3) Earn a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 15 scale or its equivalent in core curriculum courses as calculated and indicated 16 on the high school transcript after the first semester of the senior year from 17 a high school in this state or received a score on the SAT or ACT test that 18 would put them in the seventy-fifth percentile; 19 (4) Begin college within one (1) year of completing high school, or fail- 20 ing to do so, provide evidence satisfactory to the administration of extenuat- 21 ing circumstances; 22 (5) Be under the age of twenty-two (22) at the time of receiving the 23 first award; 24 (6) Enroll in college as a full-time student; 25 (7) Accept any other conditions attached to the award; and 26 (8) Satisfy any additional criteria the board of education may establish. 27 Moneys shall be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis and scholarships 28 shall be awarded to eligible students until the fund balance is zero for that 29 year. Scholarships shall be renewed for a maximum of four (4) years as long as 30 the student is attending a state-supported institution in Idaho, maintains the 31 required grade point average and is making satisfactory academic progress 32 toward graduation as determined by rule of the board. Students must use the 33 merit scholarships within seven (7) years from the date of high school gradua- 34 tion or from the date of first entrance to a college or university if the stu- 35 dent had been home schooled. The executive office of the state board of educa- 36 tion is hereby authorized to provide necessary forms and is authorized to pro- 37 vide necessary support to administer the provisions of this section. It is 38 intended that this section reward good students who want to continue their 39 education in Idaho state-supported institutions. The state board of education 40 shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section. Moneys in 41 the Idaho merit scholarship fund shall be expended pursuant to appropriation 42 by the legislature. 43 SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act shall be in full force and effect on and 44 after July 1, 1998. Section 2 of this act shall be in full force and effect on 45 and after June 1, 1999.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 07895
The purpose of this legislation is to create an Idaho Merit Scholarship
Fund for the purpose of granting college scholarships to graduates of Idaho
high schools who graduated with a 3.0 ("B") on a 4.0 scale or home schooled
students who receive a score that is at or above the seventy-fifth percentile
rating on the SAT or ACT college admission tests. Merit scholars must attend
any state-supported college or university inside Idaho.
Scholarships will be $1,000 per student per year and must be matched by
the institution granting admittance to the student. The scholarships shall be
renewable for a four (4) academic year period as long as the student maintains a
3.0 ("B") average at the college or university.
There are other provisions which provide for scholarship
reinstatement upon achieving a cumulative 3.0 ("B") average. The students
must use the merit scholarships within seven (7) years of high school
graduation or from the date of first entrance to a college or university if the
student had been home schooled.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are approximately 7,000 high school graduates per year who would
be eligible for the $1,000 scholarships. Not all eligible students would utilize
the scholarships by reason of marriage, service in the armed services, other
scholarships, vocational objectives, etc. Nevertheless, assuming all eligible
students use the program, the first year cost could be $7,000,000. Experience in
other states indicates about a fifty percent (50%) dropout after the first year.
Therefore, the second, third and fourth year costs are projected to be about
$3,500,000 each year for a total of $17,500,000 over a four year period.
One-half of the lottery income amounts to about $10,000,000 per year. It
is expected that the balance of the required funds would come from foundations,
grants, donations and other sources. If sufficient funds have not been accrued by
the end of the second year, the program could be limited to two years.
CONTACT: Senator John Hansen 332-1319
Senator Robert Lee 332-1349
S 1477