Bill Text: NJ A3984 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-07 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A3984 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3984-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ROSY BAGOLIE
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Hall
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program and supplementing chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Authority" means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71A-3.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Cost of attendance" means cost of attendance as defined pursuant to 20 U.S.C. s.1087ll.
"Program" means the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program established pursuant to this act.
"Scholarship" means a scholarship awarded under the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program established pursuant to this act.
3. a. There is established in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program. The authority shall work in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to develop the program. The program shall provide scholarships to eligible students who are employed in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages.
b. Under the program, a student who meets the eligibility criteria established pursuant to section 4 of this act shall be eligible to receive a scholarship for study at a public institution of higher education in the State. The authority shall award a maximum of 15 scholarships annually.
c. (1) A student who completes one year of full-time employment in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages as determined pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall be eligible for a scholarship to apply toward the cost of attendance for two academic years at a public institution of higher education in the State. The maximum scholarship amount shall not exceed $25,000 over a two-year period.
(2) A student who completes two years of full-time employment in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages as determined pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall be eligible for a scholarship to apply toward the cost of attendance for four academic years at a public institution of higher education in the State. The maximum scholarship amount shall not exceed $50,000 over a four-year period.
(3) A scholarship under the program shall be applied toward the cost of attendance.
d. The commissioner shall develop, within 90 days of the effective date of this act, a list of eligible public service sectors experiencing critical workforce shortages. The list may include employment in hospitals or public schools or employment as a crossing guard or first responder. The commissioner shall reevaluate the list every four years thereafter.
e. The authority, in consultation with the commissioner, shall match program participants who are not currently employed full-time in an eligible public service sector with open positions throughout the State. The positions shall, at a minimum, pay an hourly rate commensurate with the State minimum wage.
4. a. To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant shall meet the following requirements:
(1) be a resident of the State;
(2) be a United States citizen;
(3) have graduated from a public or nonpublic high school in the State in the past year or plan to graduate from a public or nonpublic high school in the State within six months of the date of application;
(4) be employed full-time in a paid position in an eligible public service sector providing, at a minimum, an hourly wage commensurate with the State minimum wage or be placed in an open position pursuant to subsection e. of section 3 of this act; and
(5) any other minimum qualifications as determined by the authority.
b. To be eligible to receive a scholarship upon completion of full-time employment pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of this act, a program participant shall:
(1) maintain residency in the State;
(2) apply and be accepted to a full-time degree granting program at a public institution of higher education; and
(3) have applied for all other available forms of State and federal financial aid, exclusive of loans.
c. A program participant's scholarship shall continue provided the program participant achieves satisfactory academic progress as defined by the institution and continues to meet the eligibility requirements established pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
d. (1) The scholarship shall be terminated if a program participant is dismissed from the public institution of higher education for academic or disciplinary reasons, or if the program participant withdraws from the institution and has not received approval from the authority pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, and the program participant shall be required to repay the full amount of any scholarship received under the program as a debt to the State.
(2) Upon application to and approval by the authority, a scholarship shall be terminated if a program participant withdraws from a public institution of higher education due to the program participant's illness, the illness of a member of the program participant's immediate family, or a family emergency, and the program participant shall not be required to repay the amount of any scholarship received under the program.
e. Scholarship funds awarded to a program participant, when combined with the full amount of grants and scholarships received by the program participant, less any student loan amounts applied to the program participant's cost of attendance, may exceed the program participant's cost of attendance. Any funds exceeding the program participant's cost of attendance shall be remitted to the program participant.
5. Within 120 days of the effective date of this act, the authority shall establish an application process to provide scholarships to eligible students under the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program established pursuant to section 3 of this act. No later than the first day of the fifth month next following the effective date of this act, the authority shall make the application available and shall, within a reasonable time frame thereafter, commence approving applications for the program.
6. The Legislature shall appropriate from the General Fund to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority amounts as may be necessary for the implementation of the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program established pursuant to section 3 of this act.
7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Jersey Strong Public Service Scholarship Program. The program is to provide scholarships to eligible students who are employed in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages.
To be eligible to participate in the program, a student is required to: have graduated from a public or nonpublic high school in the State in the past year or plan to graduate within six months of the date of application; be a resident of the State; be a United States citizen; be employed full-time in a paid position in an eligible public service sector providing, at a minimum, an hourly wage commensurate with the State minimum wage or be placed in an open position in a public service sector; and meet any other minimum qualifications as determined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. Placement positions are required to, at a minimum, pay an hourly rate commensurate with the State's minimum wage.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce development to establish a list of eligible public service sectors experiencing critical workforce shortages, which may include employment in hospitals or public schools or employment as a crossing guard or first responder.
Under the bill, an eligible student who completes one-year of full-time employment in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages is to receive a scholarship toward the cost of attendance for study at a public institution of higher education in the State for two academic years, not to exceed $25,000 total. An eligible student who completes two-years of full-time employment in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages is to receive a scholarship toward the cost of cost of attendance for study at a public institution of higher education in the State for four academic years, not to exceed $50,000 total.
To be eligible to receive the scholarship upon completion of each year of full-time employment as required by the program, a program participant is required to: maintain residency in the State; apply and be accepted to a full-time degree granting program at a public institution of higher education; and have applied for all other available forms of State and federal financial aid, excluding loans.
Finally, the bill stipulates that a program participant's scholarship be terminated and required to be repaid if a program participant is dismissed from the public institution of higher education for academic or disciplinary reasons, or withdraws from the institution without approval from the authority. The bill also stipulates that the scholarship is to be terminated if the program participant who has received approval from the authority and withdraws due to illness, the illness of a member of the student's immediate family, or a family emergency, and the program participant would not be required to repay the scholarship. Under the bill, scholarship funds that exceed a program participant's cost of attendance are permitted to be remitted to the program participant.
