SF 1185

Introduction - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996)

Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; modifying higher education 
  1.3             grant programs; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.4             sections 136A.101, subdivisions 5 and 8; 136A.121, 
  1.5             subdivisions 5, 6, 9, and by adding a subdivision; 
  1.6             136A.125, subdivisions 4 and 6; and 136A.1359, 
  1.7             subdivisions 1, 2, and 3; repealing Minnesota Statutes 
  1.8             1994, sections 136A.125, subdivision 5; 136A.1352; 
  1.9             136A.1353; and 136A.1354. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.101, 
  1.12  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 5.  "Financial need" means the demonstrated need of 
  1.14  the applicant for financial assistance to meet the actual costs 
  1.15  recognized price of attending the eligible institution of choice 
  1.16  as determined from financial information on the applicant and, 
  1.17  if required, on the applicant's parents, by a college 
  1.18  scholarship service or equivalent service under criteria 
  1.19  established by the board the federal need analysis. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.101, 
  1.21  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subd. 8.  "Resident student" means a student who meets one 
  1.23  of the following conditions:  
  1.24     (1) an independent student who has resided in Minnesota for 
  1.25  purposes other than post-secondary education for at least 12 
  1.26  months without being enrolled at a post-secondary educational 
  1.27  institution for more than five credits in any term; 
  2.1      (2) a dependent student whose parent or legal guardian 
  2.2   resides in Minnesota at the time the student applies; 
  2.3      (3) a student who graduated from a Minnesota high school, 
  2.4   if the student student's parent or legal guardian was a resident 
  2.5   of Minnesota some time during the student's period of attendance 
  2.6   at the Minnesota high school; or 
  2.7      (4) a student who, after residing in the state for a 
  2.8   minimum of one year, earned a high school equivalency 
  2.9   certificate in Minnesota. 
  2.10     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.121, 
  2.11  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.12     Subd. 5.  [GRANT STIPENDS.] The grant stipend shall be 
  2.13  based on a sharing of responsibility for covering the recognized 
  2.14  price of attendance by the applicant, the applicant's family, 
  2.15  and taxpayers.  The amount of a financial stipend must not 
  2.16  exceed a grant applicant's cost recognized price of attendance, 
  2.17  as defined in subdivision 6, after deducting the following:  
  2.18     (1) a contribution by the grant applicant of at least 50 
  2.19  percent of the cost of attending the institution of the 
  2.20  applicant's choosing the assigned student responsibility.  The 
  2.21  assigned student responsibility shall be a fixed percentage of 
  2.22  the price of attendance as set by the legislature; 
  2.23     (2) for an applicant who is not an independent student, a 
  2.24  contribution by the grant applicant's parents, the assigned 
  2.25  family responsibility.  As determined by a standardized the 
  2.26  federal need analysis; and, the assigned family responsibility 
  2.27  shall be: 
  2.28     (i) for a dependent student, a percentage of the parental 
  2.29  contribution calculated according to the federal need analysis, 
  2.30  as set by the legislature.  If the calculated student 
  2.31  contribution from assets is greater than the assigned student 
  2.32  responsibility, a percentage of the excess amount shall be 
  2.33  considered as part of the assigned family responsibility; 
  2.34     (ii) for an independent student, a percentage of the 
  2.35  student contribution calculated according to the federal need 
  2.36  analysis, as set by the legislature; and 
  3.1      (3) the amount of a federal Pell grant award for which the 
  3.2   grant applicant is eligible.  
  3.3      If the combination of the assigned student responsibility 
  3.4   and assigned family responsibility does not cover the recognized 
  3.5   price of attendance, the remainder shall be assigned to 
  3.6   taxpayers.  The assigned taxpayer responsibility shall be 
  3.7   covered by the federal Pell grant for which the student would be 
  3.8   eligible and, if necessary, a Minnesota grant. 
  3.9      The minimum financial stipend is $100.  
  3.10     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.121, 
  3.11  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 6.  [COST RECOGNIZED PRICE OF ATTENDANCE.] (a) The 
  3.13  cost recognized price of attendance consists of allowances 
  3.14  specified by the board for room and board and miscellaneous 
  3.15  expenses, and for students attending public institutions is the 
  3.16  sum of: 
  3.17     (1) for public institutions, tuition and fees charged by 
  3.18  the institution; or 
  3.19     (2) for private institutions, an allowance for tuition and 
  3.20  fees equal to the lesser of the actual tuition and fees charged 
  3.21  by the institution, or the instructional costs per full-year 
  3.22  equivalent student in comparable public institutions.  
  3.23     (b) For the purpose of paragraph (a), clause (2), 
  3.24  "comparable public institutions" to both two- and four-year, 
  3.25  private, residential, liberal arts, degree-granting colleges and 
  3.26  universities must be the same. the average full-time resident 
  3.27  tuition and fees charged by the institution to Minnesota 
  3.28  undergraduates; and 
  3.29     (2) a standard living miscellaneous and expense allowance 
  3.30  specified by the legislature. 
  3.31     (b) The recognized price of attendance for students 
  3.32  attending private institutions is the lesser of: 
  3.33     (1) average full-time resident tuition and fees charged by 
  3.34  the institution to Minnesota undergraduates and a standard 
  3.35  living and miscellaneous expense allowance specified by the 
  3.36  legislature; or 
  4.1      (2) an amount consistent with the maximum awards described 
  4.2   in subdivision 6a. 
  4.3      (c) For a student attending less than full time, the board 
  4.4   shall prorate the cost recognized price of attendance to the 
  4.5   actual number of credits for which the student is enrolled. 
  4.6      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.121, is 
  4.7   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.8      Subd. 6a.  [MAXIMUM AWARD.] Maximum awards for students 
  4.9   attending private institutions shall be set for each year by the 
  4.10  legislature.  Maximum awards are intended to limit taxpayer 
  4.11  investments to what would have been invested if the student 
  4.12  attended a Minnesota public institution.  In setting the maximum 
  4.13  award, the legislature shall consider the taxpayer support 
  4.14  received by public systems for Minnesota resident students and 
  4.15  the largest combined federal Pell and state grant available to 
  4.16  students attending public institutions. 
  4.17     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.121, 
  4.18  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  4.19     Subd. 9.  [AWARDS.] An undergraduate student who meets the 
  4.20  board's requirements is eligible to apply for and receive a 
  4.21  grant in any year of undergraduate study unless the student has 
  4.22  obtained a baccalaureate degree or previously has been enrolled 
  4.23  full time or the equivalent for eight semesters or 12 quarters.  
  4.24  No more than the equivalent of three full-time quarters or two 
  4.25  full-time semesters each fiscal year can count against the 
  4.26  student's eligibility unless the state grant becomes available 
  4.27  for more than three full-time quarters or two full-time 
  4.28  semesters each fiscal year.  
  4.29     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.125, 
  4.30  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.31     Subd. 4.  [AMOUNT AND LENGTH OF GRANTS.] The amount of a 
  4.32  child care grant must be based on: 
  4.33     (1) the income of the applicant and the applicant's spouse, 
  4.34  if any; 
  4.35     (2) the number in the applicant's family, as defined by the 
  4.36  board; and 
  5.1      (3) the number of eligible children in the applicant's 
  5.2   family.  
  5.3      The maximum award to the applicant shall be $1,500 $1,700 
  5.4   for each eligible child per academic year.  The board shall 
  5.5   prepare a chart to show the amount of a grant that will be 
  5.6   awarded per child based on the factors in this subdivision.  The 
  5.7   chart shall include a range of income and family size. 
  5.8      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.125, 
  5.9   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  5.10     Subd. 6.  [YEARLY ALLOCATIONS TO INSTITUTIONS.] The board 
  5.11  shall base yearly allocations on the need for funds using 
  5.12  relevant factors as determined by the board in consultation with 
  5.13  the institutions.  Up to five percent of the allocation funds 
  5.14  spent on students' child care awards, as determined by the 
  5.15  board, may be used for an institution's administrative expenses 
  5.16  related to the child care grant program.  Any money designated, 
  5.17  but not used, for this purpose must be reallocated to child care 
  5.18  grants.  An institution may carry forward or backward ten 
  5.19  percent of its annual allocation to be used for awards in the 
  5.20  previous or subsequent academic year. 
  5.21     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.1359, 
  5.22  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.23     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A nursing grant program is 
  5.24  established under the authority of the higher education 
  5.25  coordinating board to provide grants to students who are persons 
  5.26  of color who are entering or enrolled in an educational program 
  5.27  that leads to licensure as a registered nurse, or advanced 
  5.28  nursing education. 
  5.29     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.1359, 
  5.30  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.31     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible to receive a grant, 
  5.32  a student shall be:  
  5.33     (1) a citizen of the United States or permanent resident of 
  5.34  the United States; 
  5.35     (2) a resident of the state of Minnesota; 
  5.36     (3) an Asian Pacific-American, African-American, American 
  6.1   Indian, or Hispanic-American (Latino, Chicano, or Puerto Rican); 
  6.2      (4) entering or enrolled in a nursing program in Minnesota 
  6.3   that leads to licensure as a registered nurse, a baccalaureate 
  6.4   degree in nursing, a master's degree in nursing, or program of 
  6.5   advanced nursing education; and 
  6.6      (5) eligible under any additional criteria established by 
  6.7   the school, college, or program of nursing in which the student 
  6.8   is enrolled.  Students applying for a grant must be willing to 
  6.9   practice in Minnesota for at least three years following 
  6.10  licensure. 
  6.11     The grant must be awarded for one academic year but is 
  6.12  renewable for a maximum of six semesters or nine quarters of 
  6.13  full-time study, or their equivalent.  
  6.14     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 136A.1359, 
  6.15  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  6.16     Subd. 3.  [RESPONSIBILITY OF NURSING PROGRAMS.] Each 
  6.17  school, college, or program of nursing that wishes to 
  6.18  participate in the student nursing grant program shall apply to 
  6.19  the higher education coordinating board for grant money, 
  6.20  according to policies established by the board.  A school, 
  6.21  college, or program of nursing shall establish criteria to use 
  6.22  in awarding the grants.  The criteria must include consideration 
  6.23  of the likelihood of a student's success in completing the 
  6.24  nursing educational program and must give priority to students 
  6.25  with the greatest financial need.  Grants must be $2,500 per 
  6.26  year.  Each grant must be for a minimum of $2,000, but not 
  6.27  exceed $4,000.  Each school, college, or program of nursing 
  6.28  shall agree that the money awarded through this grant program 
  6.29  must not be used to replace any other grant or scholarship money 
  6.30  for which the student would be otherwise eligible. 
  6.31     Sec. 12.  [REPEALER.] 
  6.32     Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 136A.125, subdivision 5; 
  6.33  136A.1352; 136A.1353; and 136A.1354, are repealed.