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136A.127 ACHIEVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment. The Achieve Scholarship Program is established.
    Subd. 2. Definition; qualifying program. For the purposes of this section, a "qualifying
program" means a rigorous secondary school program of study defined by the Department of
Education under agreement with the Secretary of Education for the purposes of determining
eligibility for the federal Academic Competitiveness Grant Program under Title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended.
    Subd. 3. Documentation of qualifying programs. The student shall request a transcript
from the high school. The high school shall provide a transcript to the Office of Higher Education
or to the eligible institution in which the student is enrolling, documenting the qualifying program.
    Subd. 4. Student eligibility. To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this section, in
addition to the requirements listed under section 136A.121, a student must:
    (1) submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
    (2) take and receive at least a grade of C for courses that comprise a rigorous secondary
school program of study in a high school or in a home-school setting under section 120A.22, and
graduate from high school;
    (3) have a family adjusted gross income in the last complete calendar year prior to the
academic year of postsecondary attendance of less than $75,000;
    (4) be a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen, as defined in section 484 of the Higher
Education Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1091 et seq., as amended, and Code of
Federal Regulations, title 34, section 668.33; and
    (5) be a Minnesota resident, as defined in section 136A.101, subdivision 8.
    Subd. 5. Administration. The Achieve Scholarship Program shall be administered by
the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. The director shall develop forms and procedures
necessary to administer the program.
    Subd. 6. Application. A student must complete and submit an application for the Achieve
scholarship.
    Subd. 7. Deadline. The deadline for the office to accept applications for Achieve scholarships
is 30 days after the beginning of the academic term for which the application is submitted.
    Subd. 8. Documentation of qualifying household income. Achieve Scholarship Program
applicants must certify on the application that they meet the income eligibility requirement in
subdivision 5, clause (2). The Office of Higher Education or the postsecondary institution may
request documentation needed to confirm income eligibility.
    Subd. 9. Scholarship awards. Minnesota Achieve scholarships shall consist of $1,200 for
a student who takes and receives at least a grade of C for courses required under a qualifying
program. The scholarships may be used to pay for qualifying expenses at eligible institutions.
    Subd. 10. Qualifying expenses. Qualifying expenses are components included under the
cost of attendance used for federal student financial aid programs, as defined in section 472 of the
Higher Education Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1091 et seq., as amended.
    Subd. 11. Eligible institutions. The Achieve scholarship may only be used to pay qualifying
expenses at an eligible institution as defined under section 136A.101, subdivision 4.
    Subd. 12. Availability of scholarship funds. A scholarship earned by a student is available
for four years immediately following high school graduation. The office must certify to the
commissioner of finance by October 1 of each year the amounts to be canceled from scholarship
eligibility that have expired.
    Subd. 13. Disbursement of scholarships. The office shall make two equal payments to a
postsecondary institution on behalf of the student. The second payment must be made after the
student successfully completes the first term of enrollment.
    Subd. 14. Evaluation report. By January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the Office of Higher
Education shall submit a report, to the committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over higher
education finance and policy, regarding the success of the program in increasing the enrollment of
students in rigorous high school courses, including, at a minimum, the following information:
    (1) the demographics of individuals participating in the program;
    (2) the grades scholarship recipients received for courses in the qualifying program under
subdivision 2;
    (3) the number of scholarship recipients who persisted at a postsecondary institution for
a second year;
    (4) the high schools attended by the program participants;
    (5) the postsecondary institutions attended by the program participants;
    (6) the academic performance of the students after enrolling in a postsecondary institution;
and
    (7) other information as identified by the director.
History: 2007 c 144 art 2 s 24

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes