HSB 10 (LSB 1124DP (9) 86)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COLLEGE STUDENT AID COMMISSION BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the duties of the college student aid commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 261.2, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   261.2  Duties of commission.

   The commission shall:

   1.  Prepare and administer a state plan for a state supported and administered scholarship program. The state plan shall provide for scholarships to deserving students of Iowa, matriculating in Iowa universities, colleges, community colleges, or schools of professional nursing. Eligibility of a student for receipt of a scholarship shall be based upon academic achievement and completion of advanced level courses prescribed by the commission.  Provide, in accordance with this chapter, scholarships and grants to eligible residents of the state who are attending Iowa’s postsecondary institutions, and loan repayment for eligible recipients who are employed in Iowa’s workforce.
   2.  Administer the tuition grant program all programs authorized under this chapter; administer the Iowa state fair scholarship fund established in section 261.62; expend moneys appropriated in section 261.25; and carry out licensing sanctions in accordance with division XV of this chapter.
   3.  Ensure that students receiving state-funded scholarships and grants are attending institutions of higher education that meet both of the following conditions:
   a.  The institutions are located in Iowa and are not required to register under chapter 261B, or the institutions are participating resident institutions as defined in section 261G.2 that volunteer to register under section 261B.11B.
   b.  The institutions are eligible to participate in a federal student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
   4.  Ensure that recipients of loan repayment programs attended institutions of higher education that were in compliance with chapter 261B and were eligible to participate in a federal student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, at the time the recipients were enrolled in the institutions.
   5.  Enter into all necessary agreements with the United States secretary of education as required for the purpose of receiving full benefit of the state program incentives offered pursuant to the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
   6.  Enter into all necessary agreements with other public or private persons or entities to increase access to education programs that the commission determines meet the postsecondary education needs of Iowa residents. In accordance with those agreements, the commission may accept appropriations, gifts, grants, or other aid from those public or private persons or entities, and may establish one or more funds in the state treasury under the control of the commission. Notwithstanding section 8.33 or 12C.7, or any other provision to the contrary, moneys credited to a fund established in the state treasury pursuant to this subsection shall not revert to the general fund of the state and any income earned, including interest, from moneys in such fund or any other receipts to the fund shall remain in the fund until expended as provided in this subsection.
   3.  7.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the state board of regents, the treasurer of state, and other interested constituencies, an educational program and marketing strategies designed to inform parents about the options available for financing a college education and the need to accumulate the financial resources necessary to pay for a college education. The educational program shall include but not be limited to distribution of informational material to public and nonpublic elementary schools for distribution to parents and guardians of five-year and six-year old children.
   4.  8.  Approve transfers from the scholarship and tuition grant reserve fund under section 261.20.
   5.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the judicial district departments of correctional services and the department of corrections, a program to assist criminal offenders in applying for federal and state aid available for higher education.
   6.  9.  Develop and implement, in cooperation with the department of human services and the judicial branch, a program to assist juveniles who are sixteen years of age or older and who have a case permanency plan under chapter 232 or 237 or are otherwise under the jurisdiction of chapter 232 in applying for federal and state aid available for higher education. The commission shall also develop and implement the all Iowa opportunity foster care grant program in accordance with section 261.6.
   7.  10.  a.  Adopt rules to establish reasonable registration standards for the approval, pursuant to section 261B.3A, of postsecondary schools that are required to register with the commission in order to operate in this state. The registration standards established by the commission shall ensure that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
   (1)  The courses, curriculum, and instruction offered by the postsecondary school are of such quality and content as may reasonably and adequately ensure achievement of the stated objective for which the courses, curriculum, or instruction are offered.
   (2)  The postsecondary school has adequate space, equipment, instructional material, and personnel to provide education and training of good quality.
   (3)  The educational and experience qualifications of the postsecondary school’s directors, administrators, and instructors are such as may reasonably ensure that students will receive instruction consistent with the objectives of the postsecondary school’s programs of study.
   (4)  Upon completion of training or instruction, students are given certificates, diplomas, or degrees as appropriate by the postsecondary school indicating satisfactory completion of the program.
   (5)  The postsecondary school is financially responsible and capable of fulfilling commitments for instruction.
   b.  The commission shall post an application on the commission’s internet site and shall render a decision on an application for registration within one hundred eighty days of the filing of the application.
   8.  11.  Submit by January 15 annually a report to the general assembly which provides, by program, the number of individuals who received loan forgiveness assistance from the programs authorized under this chapter in the previous fiscal year, the amount paid to those individuals under sections 261.73, 261.112, and 261.116, and the institutions from which those individuals graduated attended, and that which includes any proposed statutory changes and the commission’s findings and recommendations.
   9.  12.  Require any postsecondary institution whose students are eligible for or who receive assistance under programs administered by the commission and who were enrolled in a school district in Iowa to include in its student management information system the unique student identifiers assigned to the institution’s students while the students were in the state’s kindergarten through grade twelve system.
   10.  Ensure that students receiving state-funded scholarships and grants are attending institutions of higher education that meet all of the following conditions:
   a.  The institutions are not required to register under chapter 261B or the institutions are participating resident institutions as defined in section 261G.2 that volunteer to register under section 261B.11B.
   b.  The institutions are eligible to participate in a federal student aid program authorized under Tit. IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
   11.  13.  Require any postsecondary institution whose students are eligible for or who receive financial assistance under programs administered by the commission to transmit annually to the commission information about the numbers of minority students enrolled in and minority faculty members employed at the institution. The commission shall compile and report the information collected to the general assembly, the governor, and the legislative services agency by March 1 annually.
   12.  14.  Enter into and administer, or recognize, an interstate reciprocity agreement for the provision of postsecondary distance education by a postsecondary institution pursuant to chapter 261G. The commission shall adopt rules establishing application procedures and criteria for the authorization of postsecondary institutions providing postsecondary distance education under interstate reciprocity agreements pursuant to chapter 261G and for the review and approval of interstate reciprocity agreements the commission may enter into or recognize pursuant to this subsection and chapter 261G. The commission may accept an authorization granted by another state to a postsecondary institution under an interstate reciprocity agreement to deliver postsecondary distance education.
    Sec. 2.  Section 261.114, subsection 11, paragraph b, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  “Eligible university” means a college or university that meets the requirements of section 261.2, subsection 10 3, and is an institution of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents or an accredited private institution as defined in section 261.9.
    Sec. 3.  Section 261G.2, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  “Interstate reciprocity agreement” means an interstate reciprocity agreement entered into and administered, or recognized, by the commission in accordance with section 261.2, subsection 12 14.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill amends the current duties of the college student aid commission, under Code section 261.2, by eliminating provisions requiring the commission to prepare and administer a state plan for a scholarship program, distribute informational material to elementary school children, and develop and implement a program to assist criminal offenders in applying for higher education assistance; by consolidating certain authorizations and responsibilities; by authorizing the commission to seek and administer higher education assistance programs under agreements with public and private entities; by striking redundancies relating to administration of the tuition grant and the all Iowa opportunity foster care grant programs; and by moving a provision within the Code section in order to improve the organization of the Code section, though the provision is also amended to require the commission to ensure that individuals benefiting from loan repayment attended postsecondary institutions that were eligible for federal student assistance and were in compliance with Code chapter 261B. The bill also makes conforming changes.
   The commission is currently required to prepare and administer a state plan for a scholarship program for deserving Iowa students matriculating in Iowa’s postsecondary institutions. The bill strikes the requirement for the state plan, though the Code sections establishing commission requirements relating to the Iowa state fair scholarship and the all Iowa opportunity scholarship program remain intact.
   Commission responsibilities that are provided for in other Code sections within the Code chapter, including responsibilities to administer the Iowa state fair scholarship, to distribute tuition grant funds appropriated by the general assembly, and to carry out licensing sanctions as appropriate, are added under the bill to Code section 261.2. 
   Currently, the commission must develop and implement, in cooperation with the state board of regents, an educational program and marketing strategies designed to inform parents about the options available for financing a college education. The bill adds the treasurer of state and other constituencies to the entities with whom the commission must cooperate in developing and implementing the program and strategies. 
   Currently, the commission must submit an annual report to the general assembly relating to loan forgiveness amounts issued, the recipients of loan forgiveness, and the institutions attended by the recipients. The bill expands the requirement beyond loan forgiveness to require that the report include information relating to all assistance authorized under the Code chapter.
   The bill authorizes the commission to seek and administer higher education assistance programs under agreements with public and private entities; to accept appropriations, gifts, grants, or other aid from those public or private persons or entities; and to establish one or more funds in the state treasury under the control of the commission. Moneys in such a fund do not revert to the general fund of the state and moneys earned as income, including as interest, from such a fund and other receipts remain in the fund until expended as provided.