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S1197..........................................................by EDUCATION PAT BIETER PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM - Amends existing law to expand the honor student scholarship program for Idaho high school graduates administered by the State Board of Education and the Board of Regents of the University of Idaho; to provide conditions; and to rename the program the "Pat Bieter Promise Scholarship Program." 02/15 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/16 Rpt prt - to Educ
S1197|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1197 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS; AMENDING SECTION 33-4303, IDAHO CODE, TO 3 PROVIDE THAT THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE "PAT BIETER 4 PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM"; AMENDING SECTION 33-4305, IDAHO CODE, TO 5 REVISE PURPOSES; AMENDING SECTION 33-4306, IDAHO CODE, TO FURTHER DEFINE 6 TERMS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-4307, IDAHO 7 CODE, TO PROVIDE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CATEGORY A AND CATEGORY B 8 PARTICIPANTS, TO PROVIDE GRANT PROVISIONS FOR CATEGORY B PARTICIPANTS AND 9 TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-4308, IDAHO CODE, TO 10 PROVIDE FOR THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRANTS FOR CATEGORY A AND CATEGORY B 11 STUDENTS; AMENDING SECTION 33-4309, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR CONTINUANCE 12 IN THE CASE OF EXTREME HARDSHIP; AND AMENDING SECTION 33-4313, IDAHO CODE, 13 TO EXPAND THE DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO 14 AND THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION REGARDING SCHOLARSHIPS AND TO MAKE TECH- 15 NICAL CORRECTIONS. 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 17 SECTION 1. That Section 33-4303, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 18 amended to read as follows: 19 33-4303. SHORT TITLE. This act shall be known and cited as the20"State of Idaho"Pat Bieter Promise Scholarship Program." 21 SECTION 2. That Section 33-4305, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 22 amended to read as follows: 23 33-4305. PURPOSES. The purpose of this act is: (1) To establish a state 24 scholarship program for the most talented Idaho secondary school 25 graduates , consisting of category A students with outstanding academic 26 qualifications and category B students who graduate with a 3.0 ("B") average 27 or better and meeting any other criteria as may be established by the board of 28 regents of the University of Idaho or the state board of education, who 29 will enroll in undergraduate nonreligious academic and vocational programs in 30 eligible postsecondary institutions in the state; and 31 (2) To designate the state board of education and the board of regents of 32 the University of Idaho as the administrative agency for thestate33Pat Bieter promise scholarship program. 34 SECTION 3. That Section 33-4306, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 35 amended to read as follows: 36 33-4306. DEFINITIONS. As used in this act, unless the context otherwise 37 requires: 38 (1)"Eligible postsecondary institution" means an educational orga-39nization within the state as follows:2 1(a)" Eligible pPublic post- 2 secondary institution" means a public postsecondary organization governed 3 or supervised by the state board of education, the board of regents of the 4 University of Idaho, a board of trustees of ajunior5 community college established pursuant to the provisions of section 6 33-2106, Idaho Code, or the state board of vocational education. 7 (b2 ) "IndependentEligible 8 colleges and universities" means any accredited educa- 9 tional organization which is operated privately and not for profit under the 10 control of an independent board and not directly controlled or administered by 11 a public or political subdivision. 12 (23 ) "Educational costs" means student costs 13 for tuition, fees, room and board, or expenses related to reasonable 14 commuting, books and such other expenses reasonably related to attendance at a 15 postsecondary educational institution. 16 (34 ) "Resident student" means an individual as 17 defined in section 33-3717 or 33-2110B , Idaho Code. 18 (45 ) "Full-time student" means an individual 19 who is enrolled in and is carrying a sufficient number of credit hours, or 20 their equivalent;, to secure an individual's first 21 degree, certificate, diploma, or less, toward which the individual is working 22 in no more than the number of semesters, or equivalent, normally required by 23 the postsecondary educational institution in the program in which the individ- 24 ual is enrolled. 25 (56 ) "Undergraduate student" means an individ- 26 ual who is enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution which leads to 27 or is directly creditable toward the individual's first baccalaureate degree, 28 certificate, diploma, or less; provided such baccalaureate degree, certifi- 29 cate, diploma or less program requires at least six (6) months or equivalent 30 of consecutive attendance. A student engaged in a four (4) year baccalaureate 31 program shall not be terminated by having earned an intermediate degree, cer- 32 tificate, or diploma. 33 (67 ) "Enrollment" means the establishment and 34 maintenance of an individual's status as a student in a postsecondary educa- 35 tional institution, regardless of the term used at the institution to describe 36 such status. 37 (78 ) "Eligible category A student" 38 means any graduate of an accredited secondary school in the state of Idaho who 39 declares his intention to matriculate in an eligible public post- 40 secondary institution or eligible independent college or university 41 in the state of Idaho during the educational year immediately following 42 such graduation. 43 (9) "Eligible category B student" means any graduate of an accred- 44 ited secondary school in the state of Idaho who declares his intention to 45 matriculate in a public postsecondary institution or eligible independent col- 46 lege or university in the state of Idaho during two (2) educational years 47 immediately following such graduation and qualifies as a resident student. 48 49 (810 ) "Grant" means an award to an eligible stu- 50 dent for matriculation in an eligible postsecondary institution in the state 51 of Idaho. 52 (911 ) "Educational year" means the period from 53 July 1 of a year through June 30 of the succeeding year. 54 (102 ) "Competitive examination" means standard- 55 ized examination(s) measuring achievement administered annually on a voluntary 3 1 basis on a specified date and at specified locations announced publicly. 2 (113 ) "High school record"means3 for category A students will be defined by the state board of education 4 and the board of regents of the University of Idaho and may include, but not 5 be limited to, an individual's rank in his secondary school class 6 , grade point average, and difficulty of course load taken as certi- 7 fied by an official of such secondary school, andanthe 8 individual's secondary school deportment as evaluated by at least two 9 (2) officials of such secondary school. 10 (14) "High school record" for category B students shall be defined 11 by the state board of education and the board of regents of the University of 12 Idaho and may include, but not be limited to, an individual's secondary school 13 grade point average as certified by an official of such secondary school. 14 15 SECTION 4. That Section 33-4307, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 16 amended to read as follows: 17 33-4307. ELIGIBILITY -- MAXIMUM AMOUNTS -- CONDITIONS. A grant may be 18 awarded to an eligible student for matriculation at an eligible postsecondary 19 educational institution in the state of Idaho if: 20 (1) The individual is accepted for enrollment as a full-time undergradu- 21 ate student, as follows: 22 (a) In the case of an individual beginning his first year or freshman 23 year of postsecondary education, he has satisfied requirements for admis- 24 sion and has enrolled in an eligible postsecondary institution. 25 Eligible category A and category B students may enroll in either a public 26 postsecondary institution or an independent college or university in the 27 state to be eligible for an award. 28 (b) In the case of an individual enrolled in an eligible postsecondary 29 institution following the successful completion of the first term, he con- 30 tinues to meet the requirements of this act and has maintained such high 31 standards of performance as may be required. Provided that high academic 32 standards are maintained in accordance with requirements of this chapter, 33 a student continues to be eligible when transferring from one major pro- 34 gram to another. 35 (c) In the case of an individual transferring from one (1) eligible post- 36 secondary institution in Idaho to another eligible postsecondary institu- 37 tion in Idaho, he continues to meet the requirements of this act, is 38 accepted at the eligible postsecondary institution to which he is trans- 39 ferring, and has maintained such high standards of performance as may be 40 required. 41 Category A and category B students may transfer to another eligible pub- 42 lic postsecondary institution or an eligible independent college or univer- 43 sity. 44 (2) The grant for category A students isin amounts45as follows: 46 (a) The grant payment to an individual per educational year for atten- 47 dance on a full-time basis is not in excess of an amount determined annu- 48 ally by the state board of education or in excess of the total educational 49 costs as certified by an official of the eligible postsecondary institu- 50 tion to be attended by the individual receiving the grant, whichever is 51 less. 52 (b) The total grant payments over a period of six (6) years to an indi- 53 vidual may not exceed four (4) annual grants or the total educational 4 1 costs for four (4) educational years completed as certified by an official 2 of the eligible postsecondary institution or institutions attended by the 3 individual receiving the grant, whichever is less. 4 (3c ) The individual receiving such a grant 5 signs an affidavit stating that the grant will be used for educational 6 costs only. 7 (4d ) The grant is awarded on the basis of 8 extraordinary performance in standardized, unweighted competitive examina- 9 tion and high school record. 10 (5e ) The individual receiving the grant is not 11 precluded from receiving other financial aids, awards, or scholarships, 12 provided the total of the grant and such other financial aids, awards or 13 scholarships does not exceed the total educational costs for attendance at 14 an eligible postsecondary institution as certified by an official of the 15 eligible postsecondary institution to be attended by the individual 16 receiving the grant. 17 (6f ) Grant payments shall correspond to aca- 18 demic terms, semesters, quarters or equivalent time periods at an eligible 19 postsecondary institution; in no instance may the entire amount of a grant 20 for an educational year, as defined in section 33-4306(921 11 ), Idaho Code, be paid to or on behalf of such student in 22 advance. 23 (7g ) The individual has complied with such 24 rulesand regulationsas may be necessary for the administra- 25 tion of this act. 26 (3) The grant for category B students is as follows: 27 (a) The grant payment to an individual per educational year for atten- 28 dance on a full-time basis is not in excess of an amount determined annu- 29 ally by the state board of education. 30 (b) The total grant payments over a period of four (4) years to an indi- 31 vidual may not exceed two (2) annual grants. 32 (c) The individual receiving such a grant signs an affidavit stating that 33 the grant will be used for educational costs only. 34 (d) The grant is awarded on the basis of high school record and other 35 criteria as may be established by the state board of education and the 36 board of regents of the University of Idaho. 37 (e) The individual receiving the grant is not precluded from receiving 38 other financial aids, awards or scholarships except that category A stu- 39 dent award recipients are not eligible for category B awards. 40 (f) Grant payments shall correspond to academic terms, semesters, quar- 41 ters or equivalent time periods at an eligible postsecondary institution; 42 in no instance may the entire amount of a grant for an educational year, 43 as defined in section 33-4306(9), Idaho Code, be paid to or on behalf of 44 such student in advance. 45 (g) The individual has complied with such rules as may be necessary for 46 the administration of this chapter. 47 SECTION 5. That Section 33-4308, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 48 amended to read as follows: 49 33-4308. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRANTS. (1) The total number of 50 grants to eligible category A students shall not exceed one hun- 51 dred (100) per year, nor a cumulative total number of grants of four hundred 52 (400) outstanding at any given time . 53 (2) The total number of grants to category B students will be 5 1 determined annually by the board of regents of the University of Idaho and the 2 state board of education based on the number of eligible students, the indi- 3 vidual award amount and availability of funds. 4 SECTION 6. That Section 33-4309, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 5 amended to read as follows: 6 33-4309. REMITTANCE IN CASE OF DISCONTINUED ATTENDANCE. A grant may be 7 made annually for a period not to exceed an educational year. If the student 8 discontinues attendance before the end of any semester, quarter, term, or 9 equivalent, covered by the grant after receiving payment under this act, the 10 eligible postsecondary institution shall remit, up to the amount of any pay- 11 ments made under this grant, any prorated tuition, fees or room and board bal- 12 ances to the state board of education and the board of regents of the Univer- 13 sity of Idaho. The student shall be required to remit, up to the amount of any 14 other reasonable grant balances, such grant balances to the state board of 15 education and the board of regents of the University of Idaho. In the 16 event of extreme hardship as determined by the board of regents of the Univer- 17 sity of Idaho or the state board of education, a student may request waiver of 18 remittance. 19 SECTION 7. That Section 33-4313, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 20 amended to read as follows: 21 33-4313. DUTIES OF BOARD. The state board of education and the board of 22 regents of the University of Idaho shall be responsible for: 23 (1) Supervision of the issuance of public information concerning the pro- 24 visions of this act. 25 (2) Determination of recipients of grants made pursuant to the provisions 26 of this act. 27 (3) Adoption of rulesand regulationsnecessary for process- 28 ing and approving applications from students. 29 (4) Determination of the procedures for payment of grants to recipients. 30 (5) Maintenance of fiscal controls and fund accounting procedures as may 31 be necessary to assure proper disbursement of funds. 32 (6) Submission of annual reports to the governor and legislature. 33 (7) Establishment of a reasonable and fair appeal procedure for those 34 students and institutions who may have been adversely affected by the applica- 35 tion procedures. 36 (8) Holding a public hearing, prior to the adoption of rules , 37and regulations,for the purpose of providing interested 38 parties with the opportunity of discussing such rules .and39regulations.40 (9) Acceptance of funds from public and private sources, and such 41 funds are hereby perpetually appropriated to the board of regents of the Uni- 42 versity of Idaho and the state board of education for expenditure consistent 43 with the purposes of this chapter. 44 (10) In the event funds from the master tobacco settlement agreement are 45 used for category B scholarships, the board of regents of the University of 46 Idaho and the state board of education may make receipt of any scholarship 47 pursuant to this chapter contingent on a student remaining drug, alcohol and 48 tobacco free during high school and for the duration of the scholarship, or to 49 age twenty-one (21) years, according to procedures adopted by the board of 50 regents or the state board of education.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 09056C1
PAT BIETER PROMISE SCHOLARSHIPS
The purpose of this amendment is three fold. First, it changes
the name of the Idaho State Scholarship Program to the Pat
Bieter Promise Scholarship Program. Second, it will encourage a
larger number of our high school graduates to continue their
education by providing deserving students a scholarship to help
defray education costs. Third, this legislation will provide a
powerful incentive for high school students to finish high
school and achieve good grades. College costs are rising much
faster than the rate of inflation. Changes in federal policy
have resulted in a large reduction in the number of federal
grants available for postsecondary students in favor of
federally backed student loans. About 60 percent of Idaho's
four-year college students incur debt to go to college, and the
average debt load upon graduation is approximately $15,000. The
number of Idaho high school graduates enrolling in college each
fall has been declining. Currently, only about 34 percent of
high school graduates elect to continue their education the next
academic year at a state public or private postsecondary
institution. Thirteen percent of our high school graduates elect
to continue their education out of state, so the total
continuation rate of Idaho high school seniors is approximately
47 percent. The national average continuation rate for high
school seniors is approximately 75 percent. Even though the
resident fees to attend Idaho's public colleges are among the
lowest in the nation, many of our students cannot afford to
continue their education. The State stands to benefit greatly
both socially and economically if more of our high school
students are motivated to excel academically and to continue
their education in an Idaho postsecondary institution. In 1992,
the State of Georgia enacted the Hope Scholarship Program, which
provides tuition and fees for four years to qualified students.
Many Georgians consider the Hope Scholarship one of the best and
most successful policy initiatives in the state's history. The
Pat Bieter Promise Scholarship proposal is modest by comparison
to the Georgia Hope Scholarship. Under the Pat Bieter proposal,
high school graduates with a GPA of 3.0 or better, if enrolled
in a state public or private postsecondary institution within
two years of graduation, would receive a scholarship for up to
two years of schooling. The scholarship would only partially
cover fees and other costs, but it will provide an important
incentive for students to continue their education.
FISCAL NOTE
There is no additional fiscal impact until the Category B
Scholarship is funded. The future fiscal impact of this amended
legislation will vary with the number of students eligible for
Category B scholarship and electing to continue their education
at a state public institution. About 16,500 seniors graduate
from Idaho public and private high schools each year and nearly
half have a 3.0 or better grade point average. If this
Legislative proposal is successful in motivating 60 percent of
those students with a 3.0 or better average to continue their
education at an Idaho public institution each year,
approximately 4,950 students would be eligible for a
scholarship. The award amount each year would be set by the
State Board of Education and depend on the amount of public and
private funding available. If, for example, this award is set
at $500 per semester ($1000 per year) for the maximum two-year
period, the cost would be $4,950,000 in the first year and
$9,900,000 each year thereafter. A broadly based scholarship
program of the type contained is this legislative proposal is
an ideal candidate for funding with Idaho Tobacco settlement
funds.
CONTACT: Senator Robert R. Lee
332-1349
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE S1197