Bill Text: IA SF432 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the duties of the college student aid commission. (Formerly SSB 1053.)

Sponsorship: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-02 - Referred to Education. S.J. 769. [SF432 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF432-Introduced.html

---

Senate File 432 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                     1053)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the duties of the college student aid
  2    commission.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1124SV (3) 86
    kh/rj

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 261.2, Code 2015, 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 other public
  2  9 or 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, except that no such
  2 12 agreement shall obligate state funds not appropriated by the
  2 13 general assembly for such purpose.  In accordance with those
  2 14 agreements, the commission may accept appropriations, gifts,
  2 15 grants, or other aid from those public or private persons or
  2 16 entities, and may establish one or more funds in the state
  2 17 treasury under the control of the commission.  Notwithstanding
  2 18 section 12C.7, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall
  2 19 be credited to the fund.
  2 20    3.  7.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the state
  2 21 board of regents, the treasurer of state, and other interested
  2 22 constituencies, an educational program and marketing strategies
  2 23 designed to inform parents about the options available for
  2 24 financing a college education and the need to accumulate the
  2 25 financial resources necessary to pay for a college education.
  2 26 The educational program shall include but not be limited to
  2 27 distribution of informational material to public and nonpublic
  2 28 elementary schools for distribution to parents and guardians of
  2 29 five=year and six=year old children.
  2 30    4.  8.  Approve transfers from the scholarship and tuition
  2 31 grant reserve fund under section 261.20.
  2 32    5.  9.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the
  2 33 judicial district departments of correctional services and
  2 34 the department of corrections, a program to assist criminal
  2 35 offenders in applying for federal and state aid available for
  3  1 higher education.
  3  2    6.  10.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the
  3  3 department of human services and the judicial branch, a program
  3  4 to assist juveniles who are sixteen years of age or older and
  3  5 who have a case permanency plan under chapter 232 or 237 or are
  3  6 otherwise under the jurisdiction of chapter 232 in applying
  3  7 for federal and state aid available for higher education.
  3  8 The commission shall also develop and implement the all Iowa
  3  9 opportunity foster care grant program in accordance with
  3 10 section 261.6.
  3 11    7.  11.  a.  Adopt rules to establish reasonable registration
  3 12 standards for the approval, pursuant to section 261B.3A, of
  3 13 postsecondary schools that are required to register with the
  3 14 commission in order to operate in this state. The registration
  3 15 standards established by the commission shall ensure that all
  3 16 of the following conditions are satisfied:
  3 17    (1)  The courses, curriculum, and instruction offered by
  3 18 the postsecondary school are of such quality and content as
  3 19 may reasonably and adequately ensure achievement of the stated
  3 20 objective for which the courses, curriculum, or instruction are
  3 21 offered.
  3 22    (2)  The postsecondary school has adequate space, equipment,
  3 23 instructional material, and personnel to provide education and
  3 24 training of good quality.
  3 25    (3)  The educational and experience qualifications of
  3 26 the postsecondary school's directors, administrators, and
  3 27 instructors are such as may reasonably ensure that students
  3 28 will receive instruction consistent with the objectives of the
  3 29 postsecondary school's programs of study.
  3 30    (4)  Upon completion of training or instruction, students
  3 31 are given certificates, diplomas, or degrees as appropriate by
  3 32 the postsecondary school indicating satisfactory completion of
  3 33 the program.
  3 34    (5)  The postsecondary school is financially responsible and
  3 35 capable of fulfilling commitments for instruction.
  4  1    b.  The commission shall post an application on the
  4  2 commission's internet site and shall render a decision on an
  4  3 application for registration within one hundred eighty days of
  4  4 the filing of the application.
  4  5    8.  12.  Submit by January 15 annually a report to the
  4  6 general assembly which provides, by program, the number of
  4  7 individuals who received loan forgiveness assistance from the
  4  8 programs authorized under this chapter in the previous fiscal
  4  9 year, the amount paid to those individuals under sections
  4 10 261.73, 261.112, and 261.116, and the institutions from which
  4 11  those individuals graduated attended, and that which includes
  4 12 any proposed statutory changes and the commission's findings
  4 13 and recommendations.
  4 14    9.  13.  Require any postsecondary institution whose
  4 15 students are eligible for or who receive assistance under
  4 16 programs administered by the commission and who were enrolled
  4 17 in a school district in Iowa to include in its student
  4 18 management information system the unique student identifiers
  4 19 assigned to the institution's students while the students were
  4 20 in the state's kindergarten through grade twelve system.
  4 21    10.  Ensure that students receiving state=funded
  4 22 scholarships and grants are attending institutions of higher
  4 23 education that meet all of the following conditions:
  4 24    a.  The institutions are not required to register under
  4 25 chapter 261B or the institutions are participating resident
  4 26 institutions as defined in section 261G.2 that volunteer to
  4 27 register under section 261B.11B.
  4 28    b.  The institutions are eligible to participate in a federal
  4 29 student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of the federal
  4 30 Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
  4 31    11.  14.  Require any postsecondary institution whose
  4 32 students are eligible for or who receive financial assistance
  4 33 under programs administered by the commission to transmit
  4 34 annually to the commission information about the numbers of
  4 35 minority students enrolled in and minority faculty members
  5  1 employed at the institution. The commission shall compile
  5  2 and report the information collected to the general assembly,
  5  3 the governor, and the legislative services agency by March 1
  5  4 annually.
  5  5    12.  15.  Enter into and administer, or recognize, an
  5  6 interstate reciprocity agreement for the provision of
  5  7 postsecondary distance education by a postsecondary institution
  5  8 pursuant to chapter 261G.  The commission shall adopt
  5  9 rules establishing application procedures and criteria for
  5 10 the authorization of postsecondary institutions providing
  5 11 postsecondary distance education under interstate reciprocity
  5 12 agreements pursuant to chapter 261G and for the review and
  5 13 approval of interstate reciprocity agreements the commission
  5 14 may enter into or recognize pursuant to this subsection and
  5 15 chapter 261G.  The commission may accept an authorization
  5 16 granted by another state to a postsecondary institution under
  5 17 an interstate reciprocity agreement to deliver postsecondary
  5 18 distance education.
  5 19    Sec. 2.  Section 261.87, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code
  5 20 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  5 21    b.  A qualified student at a four=year eligible institution
  5 22 may receive scholarships for not more than the equivalent
  5 23 of two full=time semesters of undergraduate study, or the
  5 24 trimester or quarter equivalent.  The qualified student may
  5 25 elect to receive one=half of the total scholarship amount
  5 26 awarded under this section in the first year and the second
  5 27 half in the second year.
  5 28    Sec. 3.  Section 261.114, subsection 11, paragraph b, Code
  5 29 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  5 30    b.  "Eligible university" means a college or university that
  5 31 meets the requirements of section 261.2, subsection 10 3, and
  5 32 is an institution of higher learning under the control of the
  5 33 state board of regents or an accredited private institution as
  5 34 defined in section 261.9.
  5 35    Sec. 4.  Section 261G.2, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended
  6  1 to read as follows:
  6  2    2.  "Interstate reciprocity agreement" means an interstate
  6  3 reciprocity agreement entered into and administered, or
  6  4 recognized, by the commission in accordance with section 261.2,
  6  5 subsection 12 15.
  6  6                           EXPLANATION
  6  7 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  6  8 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  6  9    This bill amends the current duties of the college student
  6 10 aid commission, under Code section 261.2, by eliminating
  6 11 provisions requiring the commission to prepare and administer
  6 12 a state plan for a scholarship program, by consolidating
  6 13 certain authorizations and responsibilities, by authorizing the
  6 14 commission to seek and administer higher education assistance
  6 15 programs under agreements with public and private entities,
  6 16 by striking redundancies relating to administration of the
  6 17 tuition grant and the all Iowa opportunity foster care grant
  6 18 programs, and by moving a provision within the Code section in
  6 19 order to improve the organization of the Code section, though
  6 20 the provision is also amended to require the commission to
  6 21 ensure that individuals benefiting from loan repayment attended
  6 22 postsecondary institutions that were eligible for federal
  6 23 student assistance and were in compliance with Code chapter
  6 24 261B.  The bill also makes conforming changes.
  6 25    The commission is currently required to prepare and
  6 26 administer a state plan for a scholarship program for
  6 27 deserving Iowa students matriculating in Iowa's postsecondary
  6 28 institutions.  The bill strikes the requirement for the
  6 29 state plan, though the Code sections establishing commission
  6 30 requirements relating to the Iowa state fair scholarship and
  6 31 the all Iowa opportunity scholarship program remain intact.
  6 32    Commission responsibilities that are provided for in
  6 33 other Code sections within the Code chapter, including
  6 34 responsibilities to administer the Iowa state fair scholarship,
  6 35 to distribute tuition grant funds appropriated by the general
  7  1 assembly, and to carry out licensing sanctions as appropriate,
  7  2 are added under the bill to Code section 261.2. The bill
  7  3 also allows a qualified student at a four=year eligible
  7  4 postsecondary institution to elect to receive the two semesters
  7  5 of the all Iowa opportunity scholarship over a two=year period.
  7  6 The bill does not increase the amount awarded to a student
  7  7 under the program.
  7  8     The bill adds the treasurer of state and other
  7  9 constituencies to the entities with whom the commission must
  7 10 cooperate in developing and implementing an educational program
  7 11 and marketing strategies designed to inform parents about
  7 12 college education financing options.
  7 13    Currently, the commission must submit an annual report
  7 14 to the general assembly relating to loan forgiveness
  7 15 amounts issued, the recipients of loan forgiveness, and the
  7 16 institutions attended by the recipients.  The bill expands the
  7 17 requirement beyond loan forgiveness to require that the report
  7 18 include information relating to all assistance authorized under
  7 19 the Code chapter.
  7 20    The bill authorizes the commission to seek and administer
  7 21 higher education assistance programs under agreements with
  7 22 public and private entities; to accept appropriations, gifts,
  7 23 grants, or other aid from those public or private persons or
  7 24 entities; and to establish one or more funds in the state
  7 25 treasury under the control of the commission.  Moneys in such a
  7 26 fund earned as income, including interest, are to be credited
  7 27 to the fund.
       LSB 1124SV (3) 86
       kh/rj