SSB 1083 (LSB 2006XC (3) 87)

SENATE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SINCLAIR)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the amount of tuition grant received by a qualified resident student.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 261.12, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The amount of a tuition grant to a qualified full-time student for the fall and spring semesters, or the trimester equivalent, shall be the lesser of the amount of the student’s financial need for that period. However, a tuition grant shall not exceed the lesser of:
   a.  The or an amount equivalent to the total tuition and mandatory fees for that student for two semesters or the trimester or quarter equivalent, less the base amount determined annually by the college student aid commission, which base amount shall be within ten dollars of the average tuition for two semesters or the trimester equivalent of undergraduate study at the state universities under the board of regents, but in any event the base amount shall not be less than four hundred dollars; or
   b.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, and for each succeeding fiscal year, six thousand dollars.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill removes the $6,000 limitation on the amount of an Iowa tuition grant that may be awarded by the college student aid commission to a qualified student enrolled full-time at an accredited private institution. “Qualified student” is defined in current law as a resident student who has established financial need and who is making satisfactory progress toward graduation. 
   Currently, the amount of a tuition grant to a full-time student is limited to the least of the student’s financial need, $6,000, or the total tuition and mandatory fees for that student for two semesters, or the trimester or quarter equivalent, less the base amount, which is approximately the average tuition for two semesters at the regents universities. The bill does not modify the current provision except to eliminate the $6,000 limitation.