HF 342

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to higher education; modifying certain 
  1.3             conditions and terms relating to grants; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 136A.121, 
  1.5             subdivision 9; and 136A.125, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, 6, 
  1.6             8, and 9; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
  1.7             136A.125, subdivision 3. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.121, 
  1.10  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 9.  [AWARDS.] An undergraduate student who meets the 
  1.12  office's requirements is eligible to apply for and receive a 
  1.13  grant in any year of undergraduate study unless the student has 
  1.14  obtained a baccalaureate degree or previously has been enrolled 
  1.15  full time or the equivalent for eight semesters or 12 quarters, 
  1.16  excluding courses taken from a Minnesota school or 
  1.17  post-secondary institution which is not participating in the 
  1.18  state grant program and from which a student transferred no 
  1.19  credit. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, 
  1.21  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A child care grant program 
  1.23  is established under the supervision of the higher education 
  1.24  services office.  The program makes money available to eligible 
  1.25  students to reduce the costs of child care while attending an 
  1.26  eligible post-secondary institution.  The office shall develop 
  2.1   policies and adopt rules as necessary to implement and 
  2.2   administer the program. 
  2.3      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, 
  2.4   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.5      Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.] An applicant is eligible for 
  2.6   a child care grant if the applicant: 
  2.7      (1) is a resident of the state of Minnesota; 
  2.8      (2) has a child 12 years of age or younger, or 14 years of 
  2.9   age or younger who is handicapped as defined in section 125A.02, 
  2.10  and who is receiving or will receive care on a regular basis 
  2.11  from a licensed or legal, nonlicensed caregiver; 
  2.12     (3) is income eligible as determined by the office's 
  2.13  policies and rules, but is not a recipient of assistance from 
  2.14  the Minnesota family investment program; 
  2.15     (4) has not earned a baccalaureate degree and has been 
  2.16  enrolled full time less than eight semesters, 12 quarters, or 
  2.17  the equivalent; 
  2.18     (5) is pursuing a nonsectarian program or course of study 
  2.19  that applies to an undergraduate degree, diploma, or 
  2.20  certificate; 
  2.21     (6) is enrolled at least half time in an eligible 
  2.22  institution; and 
  2.23     (7) is in good academic standing and making satisfactory 
  2.24  academic progress. 
  2.25     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, 
  2.26  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.27     Subd. 4.  [AMOUNT AND LENGTH OF GRANTS.] The amount of a 
  2.28  child care grant must be based on: 
  2.29     (1) the income of the applicant and the applicant's spouse, 
  2.30  if any; 
  2.31     (2) the number in the applicant's family, as defined by the 
  2.32  office; and 
  2.33     (3) the number of eligible children in the applicant's 
  2.34  family.  
  2.35     The maximum award to the applicant shall be $2,000 $2,500 
  2.36  for each eligible child per academic year, except that the 
  3.1   campus financial aid officer may apply to the office for 
  3.2   approval to increase grants by up to ten percent to compensate 
  3.3   for higher market charges for infant care in a community.  The 
  3.4   office shall develop policies to determine community market 
  3.5   costs and review institutional requests for compensatory grant 
  3.6   increases to ensure need and equal treatment.  The office shall 
  3.7   prepare a chart to show the amount of a grant that will be 
  3.8   awarded per child based on the factors in this subdivision.  The 
  3.9   chart shall include a range of income and family size. 
  3.10     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, 
  3.11  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 6.  [YEARLY ALLOCATIONS TO INSTITUTIONS.] The office 
  3.13  shall base yearly allocations on the need for funds using 
  3.14  relevant factors as determined by the office in consultation 
  3.15  with the eligible institutions.  Up to five percent of the money 
  3.16  spent on students' child care awards, as determined by the 
  3.17  office, may be used for an eligible institution's administrative 
  3.18  expenses related to the child care grant program.  Any money 
  3.19  designated, but not used, for this purpose must be reallocated 
  3.20  to child care grants.  An eligible institution may carry forward 
  3.21  or backward ten percent of its annual allocation to be used for 
  3.22  awards in the previous or subsequent academic year. 
  3.23     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, 
  3.24  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  3.25     Subd. 8.  [INFORMATION.] The office shall develop and 
  3.26  provide information about the program to eligible post-secondary 
  3.27  institutions, human service agencies, and potential applicants. 
  3.28     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, 
  3.29  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  3.30     Subd. 9.  [REPORT.] Eligible institutions must submit 
  3.31  reports, when requested by the office, on program activity 
  3.32  including the number of students served, the child care costs, 
  3.33  and the number of students on a waiting list for available 
  3.34  funds.  The reports must also include the eligible institution's 
  3.35  method of prioritizing applicants if insufficient funds are 
  3.36  available. 
  4.1      Sec. 8.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.2      Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 136A.125, subdivision 3, 
  4.3   is repealed.