Iowa-2017-HF47-Introduced
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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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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