Bill Text: IA HF47 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the administration of postsecondary education assistance by the college student aid commission.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-19 - Introduced, referred to Education. H.J. 97. [HF47 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HF47-Introduced.html

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House File 47 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  WINCKLER, STAED,
                                     HUNTER, GASKILL,
                                     LENSING, and HANSON

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the administration of postsecondary
  2    education assistance by the college student aid commission.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 261.2, Code 2017, is amended to read as
  1  2 follows:
  1  3    261.2  Duties of commission.
  1  4    The commission shall:
  1  5    1.  Prepare and administer a state plan for a state
  1  6 supported and administered scholarship program. The state
  1  7 plan shall provide for scholarships to deserving students of
  1  8 Iowa, matriculating in Iowa universities, colleges, community
  1  9 colleges, or schools of professional nursing. Eligibility of
  1 10 a student for receipt of a scholarship shall be based upon
  1 11 academic achievement and completion of advanced level courses
  1 12 prescribed by the commission.  Provide, in accordance with
  1 13 this chapter, scholarships and grants to eligible residents of
  1 14 the state who are attending Iowa's postsecondary institutions,
  1 15 and loan repayment for eligible recipients who are employed in
  1 16 Iowa's workforce.
  1 17    2.  Administer the tuition grant program all programs
  1 18 authorized under this chapter; administer the Iowa state
  1 19 fair scholarship fund established in section 261.62; expend
  1 20 moneys appropriated in section 261.25; and carry out licensing
  1 21 sanctions in accordance with division XV of this chapter.
  1 22    3.  Ensure that students receiving state=funded scholarships
  1 23 and grants are attending institutions of higher education that
  1 24 meet both of the following conditions:
  1 25    a.  The institutions are located in Iowa and are not
  1 26 required to register under chapter 261B, or the institutions
  1 27 are participating resident institutions as defined in section
  1 28 261G.2 that volunteer to register under section 261B.11B.
  1 29    b.  The institutions are eligible to participate in a federal
  1 30 student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of the federal
  1 31 Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
  1 32    4.  Ensure that recipients of loan repayment programs
  1 33 attended institutions of higher education that were in
  1 34 compliance with chapter 261B and were eligible to participate
  1 35 in a federal student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of
  2  1 the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, at the
  2  2 time the recipients were enrolled in the institutions.
  2  3    5.  Enter into all necessary agreements with the United
  2  4 States secretary of education as required for the purpose of
  2  5 receiving full benefit of the state program incentives offered
  2  6 pursuant to the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as
  2  7 amended.
  2  8    6.  Enter into all necessary agreements with public or
  2  9 private persons or entities to increase access to education
  2 10 programs that the commission determines meet the postsecondary
  2 11 education needs of Iowa residents.  In accordance with those
  2 12 agreements, the commission may accept appropriations, gifts,
  2 13 grants, or other aid from those public or private persons or
  2 14 entities, and may establish one or more funds in the state
  2 15 treasury under the control of the commission.  Notwithstanding
  2 16 section 8.33 or 12C.7, or any other provision to the contrary,
  2 17 moneys credited to a fund established in the state treasury
  2 18 pursuant to this subsection shall not revert to the general
  2 19 fund of the state and any income earned, including interest,
  2 20 from moneys in such fund or any other receipts to the fund
  2 21 shall remain in the fund until expended as provided in this
  2 22 subsection.
  2 23    3.  7.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the state
  2 24 board of regents, the treasurer of state, and other interested
  2 25 constituencies, an educational program and marketing strategies
  2 26 designed to inform parents about the options available for
  2 27 financing a college education and the need to accumulate the
  2 28 financial resources necessary to pay for a college education.
  2 29 The educational program shall include but not be limited to
  2 30 distribution of informational material to public and nonpublic
  2 31 elementary schools for distribution to parents and guardians of
  2 32 five=year and six=year old children.
  2 33    4.  8.  Approve transfers from the scholarship and tuition
  2 34 grant reserve fund under section 261.20.
  2 35    5.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the
  3  1 judicial district departments of correctional services and
  3  2 the department of corrections, a program to assist criminal
  3  3 offenders in applying for federal and state aid available for
  3  4 higher education.
  3  5    6.  9.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the
  3  6 department of human services and the judicial branch, a program
  3  7 to assist juveniles who are sixteen years of age or older and
  3  8 who have a case permanency plan under chapter 232 or 237 or are
  3  9 otherwise under the jurisdiction of chapter 232 in applying
  3 10 for federal and state aid available for higher education.
  3 11 The commission shall also develop and implement the all Iowa
  3 12 opportunity foster care grant program in accordance with
  3 13 section 261.6.
  3 14    7.  10.  a.  Adopt rules to establish reasonable registration
  3 15 standards for the approval, pursuant to section 261B.3A, of
  3 16 postsecondary schools that are required to register with the
  3 17 commission in order to operate in this state. The registration
  3 18 standards established by the commission shall ensure that all
  3 19 of the following conditions are satisfied:
  3 20    (1)  The courses, curriculum, and instruction offered by
  3 21 the postsecondary school are of such quality and content as
  3 22 may reasonably and adequately ensure achievement of the stated
  3 23 objective for which the courses, curriculum, or instruction are
  3 24 offered.
  3 25    (2)  The postsecondary school has adequate space, equipment,
  3 26 instructional material, and personnel to provide education and
  3 27 training of good quality.
  3 28    (3)  The educational and experience qualifications of
  3 29 the postsecondary school's directors, administrators, and
  3 30 instructors are such as may reasonably ensure that students
  3 31 will receive instruction consistent with the objectives of the
  3 32 postsecondary school's programs of study.
  3 33    (4)  Upon completion of training or instruction, students
  3 34 are given certificates, diplomas, or degrees as appropriate by
  3 35 the postsecondary school indicating satisfactory completion of
  4  1 the program.
  4  2    (5)  The postsecondary school is financially responsible and
  4  3 capable of fulfilling commitments for instruction.
  4  4    b.  The commission shall post an application on the
  4  5 commission's internet site and shall render a decision on an
  4  6 application for registration within one hundred eighty days of
  4  7 the filing of the application.
  4  8    8.  11.  Submit by January 15 annually a report to the
  4  9 general assembly which provides, by program, the number of
  4 10 individuals who received loan forgiveness assistance from the
  4 11 programs authorized under this chapter in the previous fiscal
  4 12 year, the amount paid to those individuals under sections
  4 13 261.73, 261.112, and 261.116, and the institutions from which
  4 14  those individuals graduated attended, and that which includes
  4 15 any proposed statutory changes and the commission's findings
  4 16 and recommendations.
  4 17    9.  12.  Require any postsecondary institution whose
  4 18 students are eligible for or who receive assistance under
  4 19 programs administered by the commission and who were enrolled
  4 20 in a school district in Iowa to include in its student
  4 21 management information system the unique student identifiers
  4 22 assigned to the institution's students while the students were
  4 23 in the state's kindergarten through grade twelve system.
  4 24    10.  Ensure that students receiving state=funded
  4 25 scholarships and grants are attending institutions of higher
  4 26 education that meet all of the following conditions:
  4 27    a.  The institutions are not required to register under
  4 28 chapter 261B or the institutions are participating resident
  4 29 institutions as defined in section 261G.2 that volunteer to
  4 30 register under section 261B.11B.
  4 31    b.  The institutions are eligible to participate in a federal
  4 32 student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of the federal
  4 33 Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
  4 34    11.  13.  Require any postsecondary institution whose
  4 35 students are eligible for or who receive financial assistance
  5  1 under programs administered by the commission to transmit
  5  2 annually to the commission information about the numbers of
  5  3 minority students enrolled in and minority faculty members
  5  4 employed at the institution. The commission shall compile
  5  5 and report the information collected to the general assembly,
  5  6 the governor, and the legislative services agency by March 1
  5  7 annually.
  5  8    12.  14.  Enter into and administer, or recognize, an
  5  9 interstate reciprocity agreement for the provision of
  5 10 postsecondary distance education by a postsecondary institution
  5 11 pursuant to chapter 261G.  The commission shall adopt
  5 12 rules establishing application procedures and criteria for
  5 13 the authorization of postsecondary institutions providing
  5 14 postsecondary distance education under interstate reciprocity
  5 15 agreements pursuant to chapter 261G and for the review and
  5 16 approval of interstate reciprocity agreements the commission
  5 17 may enter into or recognize pursuant to this subsection and
  5 18 chapter 261G.  The commission may accept an authorization
  5 19 granted by another state to a postsecondary institution under
  5 20 an interstate reciprocity agreement to deliver postsecondary
  5 21 distance education.
  5 22    Sec. 2.  Section 261.114, subsection 11, paragraph b, Code
  5 23 2017, is amended to read as follows:
  5 24    b.  "Eligible university" means a college or university that
  5 25 meets the requirements of section 261.2, subsection 10 3, and
  5 26 is an institution of higher learning under the control of the
  5 27 state board of regents or an accredited private institution as
  5 28 defined in section 261.9.
  5 29    Sec. 3.  Section 261G.2, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended
  5 30 to read as follows:
  5 31    2.  "Interstate reciprocity agreement" means an interstate
  5 32 reciprocity agreement entered into and administered, or
  5 33 recognized, by the commission in accordance with section 261.2,
  5 34 subsection 12 14.
  5 35                           EXPLANATION
  6  1 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  6  2 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  6  3    This bill amends the current duties of the college student
  6  4 aid commission, under Code section 261.2, by eliminating
  6  5 provisions requiring the commission to prepare and administer a
  6  6 state plan for a scholarship program, distribute informational
  6  7 material to elementary school children, and develop and
  6  8 implement a program to assist criminal offenders in applying
  6  9 for higher education assistance; by consolidating certain
  6 10 authorizations and responsibilities; by authorizing the
  6 11 commission to seek and administer higher education assistance
  6 12 programs under agreements with public and private entities;
  6 13 by striking redundancies relating to administration of the
  6 14 tuition grant and the all Iowa opportunity foster care grant
  6 15 programs; and by moving a provision within the Code section in
  6 16 order to improve the organization of the Code section, though
  6 17 the provision is also amended to require the commission to
  6 18 ensure that individuals benefiting from loan repayment attended
  6 19 postsecondary institutions that were eligible for federal
  6 20 student assistance and were in compliance with Code chapter
  6 21 261B.  The bill also makes conforming changes.
  6 22    The commission is currently required to prepare and
  6 23 administer a state plan for a scholarship program for
  6 24 deserving Iowa students matriculating in Iowa's postsecondary
  6 25 institutions.  The bill strikes the requirement for the
  6 26 state plan, though the Code sections establishing commission
  6 27 requirements relating to the Iowa state fair scholarship and
  6 28 the all Iowa opportunity scholarship program remain intact.
  6 29    Commission responsibilities that are provided for in
  6 30 other Code sections within the Code chapter, including
  6 31 responsibilities to administer the Iowa state fair scholarship,
  6 32 to distribute tuition grant funds appropriated by the general
  6 33 assembly, and to carry out licensing sanctions as appropriate,
  6 34 are added under the bill to Code section 261.2.
  6 35    Currently, the commission must develop and implement, in
  7  1 cooperation with the state board of regents, an educational
  7  2 program and marketing strategies designed to inform parents
  7  3 about the options available for financing a college education.
  7  4 The bill adds the treasurer of state and other constituencies
  7  5 to the entities with whom the commission must cooperate in
  7  6 developing and implementing the program and strategies.
  7  7    Currently, the commission must submit an annual report
  7  8 to the general assembly relating to loan forgiveness
  7  9 amounts issued, the recipients of loan forgiveness, and the
  7 10 institutions attended by the recipients.  The bill expands the
  7 11 requirement beyond loan forgiveness to require that the report
  7 12 include information relating to all assistance authorized under
  7 13 the Code chapter.
  7 14    The bill authorizes the commission to administer higher
  7 15 education assistance programs under agreements with public and
  7 16 private persons and entities; to accept appropriations, gifts,
  7 17 grants, or other aid from those public or private persons or
  7 18 entities; and to establish one or more funds in the state
  7 19 treasury under the control of the commission.  Moneys in such a
  7 20 fund do not revert to the general fund of the state and moneys
  7 21 earned as income, including as interest, from such a fund and
  7 22 other receipts remain in the fund until expended.
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