1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to higher education; establishing the 
  1.3             Minnesota promise scholarship and intervention 
  1.4             investment program; appropriating money; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 136A.233, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes, chapter 136A. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [136A.128] [MINNESOTA PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The Minnesota promise 
  1.11  scholarship is established to motivate students from low-income 
  1.12  families with no previous higher education attendance to prepare 
  1.13  for post-secondary education and to reward them for their 
  1.14  efforts.  The scholarship will provide an early commitment of 
  1.15  financial assistance which will be combined with ongoing support 
  1.16  from a mentor to encourage students to complete high school and 
  1.17  participate in post-secondary education. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible for a Minnesota 
  1.19  promise scholarship, a student must: 
  1.20     (1) be a Minnesota resident who has completed the eighth 
  1.21  grade; 
  1.22     (2) come from a family with adjusted gross income of below 
  1.23  $24,000 and where the parents' highest level of education is a 
  1.24  high school diploma or less; and 
  1.25     (3) be nominated by a mentor, such as a teacher, school 
  1.26  counselor, community outreach worker, or church leader. 
  2.1      Subd. 3.  [SELECTION PROCESS.] The services office will 
  2.2   establish and convene a selection committee to review and select 
  2.3   scholarship recipients.  The committee shall include, but not be 
  2.4   limited to, representatives of community organizations serving 
  2.5   youth, K-12 education, post-secondary education, the Minnesota 
  2.6   minority education partnership, business, and education 
  2.7   intervention or outreach programs. 
  2.8      Subd. 4.  [SELECTION CRITERIA.] The following criteria 
  2.9   shall be used to select scholarship recipients: 
  2.10     (1) evidence of accomplishment in middle or junior high 
  2.11  school, including but not limited to: 
  2.12     (i) academic progress (a minimum of a 2.5 grade point 
  2.13  average); 
  2.14     (ii) community service; 
  2.15     (iii) regular school attendance; and 
  2.16     (iv) participation in extracurricular activities; 
  2.17     (2) submission of an essay on future educational 
  2.18  aspirations and how they will be accomplished; 
  2.19     (3) recommendation of a mentor; 
  2.20     (4) promise by the mentor to maintain communication with 
  2.21  the applicant throughout the applicant's high school years and 
  2.22  supervise the fulfillment of the program's requirements; and 
  2.23     (5) pledge by the applicant to fulfill the program's 
  2.24  requirements in high school. 
  2.25     Subd. 5.  [HIGH SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.] While in high school, 
  2.26  the scholarship recipient shall: 
  2.27     (1) enroll in and complete a high school curriculum that 
  2.28  meets state graduation standards and academic expectations of 
  2.29  Minnesota post-secondary education institutions; 
  2.30     (2) complete at least 100 hours of community service; and 
  2.31     (3) maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 
  2.32  2.5. 
  2.33     Subd. 6.  [POST-SECONDARY REQUIREMENTS.] In order to 
  2.34  receive the scholarship, the recipient must: 
  2.35     (1) graduate from a Minnesota high school and fulfill the 
  2.36  requirements in subdivision 5; 
  3.1      (2) be admitted to a federal Title IV eligible public or 
  3.2   private post-secondary institution; 
  3.3      (3) complete the financial aid application process; 
  3.4      (4) be accepted for enrollment in an eligible 
  3.5   post-secondary institution within three years of high school 
  3.6   graduation; and 
  3.7      (5) be registered at an eligible post-secondary institution 
  3.8   for a minimum of 12 credits per term. 
  3.9      Subd. 7.  [SCHOLARSHIP AWARD.] Scholarship recipients who 
  3.10  meet program requirements shall receive $2,000 toward their 
  3.11  price of attendance for their first year of post-secondary 
  3.12  education.  Recipients who complete their first year of 
  3.13  post-secondary education and maintain satisfactory academic 
  3.14  progress, as defined by the institution, shall have their 
  3.15  scholarship renewed for a second year. 
  3.16     Subd. 8.  [ADMINISTRATION.] The services office may seek 
  3.17  additional funds from federal and private sources to expand the 
  3.18  availability of scholarship money.  The services office shall 
  3.19  maintain and administer a trust fund to accumulate assets from 
  3.20  appropriations, gifts, and investment earnings. 
  3.21     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 136A.233, is 
  3.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.23     Subd. 5.  [COLLEGE CORPS.] Each campus participating in the 
  3.24  state work study program is encouraged to place students in the 
  3.25  college corps portion of the program under the supervision of 
  3.26  the services office.  Under the college corps, work study 
  3.27  students shall provide seventh and eighth grade students with 
  3.28  information about preparing academically and financially for 
  3.29  post-secondary education opportunities.  The services office 
  3.30  shall develop a curriculum, place work study students in junior 
  3.31  high and middle schools, and train and supervise the students.  
  3.32  The office shall see to place work study students at schools 
  3.33  educating primarily low-income students whose parents have not 
  3.34  participated in post-secondary education. 
  3.35     Sec. 3.  [INTERVENTION INVESTMENT.] 
  3.36     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] An intervention investment 
  4.1   program for college attendance is established to support 
  4.2   mentoring, tutoring, and information about post-secondary 
  4.3   education preparation and opportunities to low-income students 
  4.4   who have completed elementary school. 
  4.5      Subd. 2.  [GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS.] The higher education 
  4.6   services office shall develop a request for proposal and award 
  4.7   grants to post-secondary institutions or nonprofit organizations 
  4.8   that operate or propose to establish programs that assist 
  4.9   low-income students beyond the elementary school level in 
  4.10  preparing academically and financially for post-secondary 
  4.11  education.  At least two-thirds of the students to be served 
  4.12  must come from families with adjusted gross incomes under 
  4.13  $24,000 and where neither parent has attended post-secondary 
  4.14  education. 
  4.15     Subd. 3.  [GRANT SELECTION PROCESS.] The higher education 
  4.16  services office shall establish and convene a grant selection 
  4.17  committee including, but not limited to, representatives of 
  4.18  community organizations, K-12 education, post-secondary 
  4.19  education, the Minnesota minority education partnership, 
  4.20  business, and education intervention or outreach programs. 
  4.21     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  4.22     The following sums are appropriated from the general fund 
  4.23  to the higher education services office to support early 
  4.24  intervention and college awareness programs: 
  4.25     (1) $500,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $1,000,000 in fiscal 
  4.26  year 2001 for the Minnesota promise scholarship program.  Of 
  4.27  this amount, up to $50,000 is available each year for 
  4.28  administration; 
  4.29     (2) $100,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $200,000 in fiscal 
  4.30  year 2001 for the state work study program to create and pilot 
  4.31  the college corps program.  Of this amount, up to $30,000 the 
  4.32  first year and $40,000 the second year are available for 
  4.33  administration; 
  4.34     (3) $500,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $500,000 in fiscal 
  4.35  year 2001 for grants under the intervention investment program 
  4.36  for college attendance; 
  5.1      (4) $275,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $350,000 in fiscal 
  5.2   year 2001 for the get ready! outreach program.  This 
  5.3   appropriation shall be used for expanded service to elementary 
  5.4   school-age students and parents in the Twin Cities and greater 
  5.5   Minnesota; continued counseling to middle school students who 
  5.6   have completed participation in get ready!; additional college 
  5.7   planning presentations to schools and community agencies; 
  5.8   program evaluation; and a summer get ready! camp; 
  5.9      (5) $150,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $150,000 in fiscal 
  5.10  year 2001 to expand student and parent information to encourage 
  5.11  families to begin financial and academic preparation for 
  5.12  post-secondary education.  This appropriation shall be used for 
  5.13  a statewide campaign, in cooperation with the private sector, to 
  5.14  encourage families to save for post-secondary education; 
  5.15  enhancement of the office's web page; and translation of 
  5.16  information into different languages; and 
  5.17     (6) $42,000 in fiscal year 2000 and $42,000 in fiscal year 
  5.18  2001 to support the state's contribution to the Minnesota 
  5.19  minority education partnership.