Bill Amendment: MS HB405 | 2018 | Regular Session
Bill Title: "Mississippi Career-Tech Scholars Program"; establish to provide free tuition at community and junior colleges.
Status: 2018-03-26 - Died In Conference [HB405 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2018-HB405-Senate_Committee_Amendment_No_1.html
Pending
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO
House Bill No. 405
BY: Committee
ADOPTED BY APPROPRIATIONS
PROPOSED
Amend by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be known as the Mississippi Works Career-Tech Scholars Program. The Mississippi Works Career-Tech Scholars Program (the program) shall serve as a Last-Dollar Scholarship Program for eligible students by providing financial assistance to students who enroll in career and technical education certificate and associate of applied science programs identified through sector analysis to meet Mississippi's workforce demands.
(2) In order to participate in the program, a student must:
(a) Be a legal resident of the State of Mississippi and a citizen of the United States of America;
(b) Be admitted to a public community or junior college and apply for and accept all offers for all available federal, state and institutional aid;
(c) Enroll in a minimum of fifteen (15) credit hours in an approved/identified career-tech program offered at a public community or junior college. For programs with less than fifteen (15) credit hours per semester, work-based learning (WBL) credits may be included to meet the minimum of fifteen (15) credit hours in enrollment;
(d) For participants employed full time, the student must provide a letter from the employer to certify employment and must maintain a minimum of nine (9) credit hours each semester (may include WBL credits) in a credit-bearing approved/identified career-tech program offered at one (1) of the public community or junior colleges.
(3) Once admitted into the program, participating students:
(a) Must maintain a 2.0 grade point average each semester; and
(b) Participate in available work-based learning opportunities in field of study, if the business or industry provides this option.
(4) For programs eligible for the Mississippi Works Career-Tech Scholars Program, participant eligibility will end once the participant's total attempted credit hours equals the program's established and approved total credit hours.
(5) By December 1 of each program year, the Mississippi Community College Board, with assistance from the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid, shall provide to the Legislature an evaluation of the program from the previous fiscal year. The report shall include the number of participants of the program, the cost associated with the program, approved career-tech programs in which participants enrolled and progress made by participants toward a degree or certificate.
(6) It shall be the responsibility of a committee of Financial Aid Directors appointed by the Postsecondary Financial Aid Board to establish a statewide application, including specific submission timeframes, for the program. Applications for the program shall include information about how students can apply for and receive federal, state and institutional aid. Additionally, program participants shall work with the community colleges' financial aid office to determine what scholarships and grants are available.
(7) Sector strategies and eligible career-tech programs shall be selected by:
(a) The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), in collaboration with the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, the Mississippi Community College Board and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, will identify eligible occupations within high growth, high technology sectors of interest to the state.
(b) The State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) will provide the information to identify the occupations in high growth, high technology sectors.
(c) The Mississippi Development Authority will be responsible for promoting economic opportunities in eligible occupations for individuals who participate in the Career-Tech Scholars Program.
(d) The State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) will be responsible for coordinating workforce activities that will provide the necessary additional supporting services to succeed in the Career-Tech Scholars Program.
(e) Each public community and junior college shall have a minimum of one (1) career-tech program approved to participate in the Career-Tech Scholars Program.
(f) Approved programs shall be consistent with those sectors identified as set forth above, and the career-tech programs shall lead to high-skill, high-wage jobs.
(g) Sectors and eligible career-tech programs will be reviewed every two (2) years through a collaborative process between the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, the Mississippi Community College Board and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges to ensure job availability remains current and that such jobs are in high growth, high technology sectors. Student participants already enrolled in an eligible program prior to the review process aforementioned will remain eligible until completion of a certificate or associate of applied science in the program provided all other eligibility requirements are met.
(8) The Mississippi Works Career-Tech Scholars Program shall be administered by the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid with the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Community College Board, and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges establishing eligible career-tech programs at the community and junior colleges. These career-tech programs must provide training in the sectors identified by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, the Mississippi Community College Board and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges as set forth above.
(9) It is the intention of the Legislature that no General Funds shall be authorized to be expended for this program. No state funds appropriated by the Legislature shall be used to replace federal funds, local government funds, and/or institutional funds, which are being used to assist students with the cost of tuition authorized under the provisions of this act and which are withdrawn and no longer available.
(10) If legislative funding is not sufficient to meet the needs of all eligible students, the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid shall reduce the allocation of funds to each college in proportion to the state's actual share of the cost of the program for each college, in order to determine the unfunded tuition cost at each college and to calculate the reduced amount to allocate and distribute to each college.
(11) Funding for the Mississippi Works Career-Tech Scholars program shall be appropriated to the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid.
(12) Any unfunded tuition shall be the responsibility of the student.
(13) Any funds appropriated for this act shall not exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00), and any funds which are not expended during the fiscal year for which they were appropriated shall not lapse into the State General Fund and shall be carried forward for the same purposes during the succeeding fiscal year.
(14) Public and private entities that provide financial contributions to existing community or junior college tuition guarantee programs may and are encouraged to continue to do so.
(15) In accordance with Section 37-103-25, each community and junior college shall solely be responsible for setting tuition and fees to be paid by students.
(16) Students who participate in the program shall be eligible for community and junior college reimbursement purposes of state appropriations, provided they meet established admission and attendance requirements.
(17) Should approved career-tech programs reach enrollment capacity, priority shall be given to military personnel when possible.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.
Further, amend by striking the title in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
AN ACT TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI WORKS CAREER-TECH SCHOLARS PROGRAM" TO PROVIDE FUNDS TO HELP ELIGIBLE STUDENTS OF PUBLIC COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES WHO ARE ENROLLED IN IDENTIFIED CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS PAY THE COST OF TUITION NOT COVERED BY FEDERAL, STATE AND INSTITUTIONAL AID; TO PROVIDE STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE PROGRAM; TO PRESCRIBE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
