SB 208: "An Act eliminating the Alaska education grant program and the Alaska performance scholarship program; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 208 01 "An Act eliminating the Alaska education grant program and the Alaska performance 02 scholarship program; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.42.030(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) The commission may 06 (1) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 07 to 08 (A) carry out the purposes of 09 (i) AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.325, 14.43.510 - 14.43.750 10 [AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.849], 14.43.990, AS 14.44, and AS 14.48; and 11 (ii) AS 14.43.910 and 14.43.920 as they relate to the 12 purposes of AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.325, 14.43.510 - 14.43.750 13 [AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.849], 14.43.990, AS 14.44, and AS 14.48; 14 (B) ensure compliance with the requirements imposed by state
01 and federal statutes and regulations governing the guaranty, insurance, 02 purchase, or other dealings in eligible loans by federal agencies, 03 instrumentalities, or corporations; and 04 (C) establish standards for the 05 (i) administration of hearings conducted under 06 AS 14.43.153; and 07 (ii) administrative enforcement of collection orders 08 under AS 14.43.151 - 14.43.155; 09 (2) delegate to the executive director of the commission or a 10 subcommittee of the commission any duty imposed on or power granted to the 11 commission by this chapter, AS 14.43, AS 14.44, or AS 14.48, except its power to 12 adopt regulations and its duty to consider appeals under AS 14.43.100(b) and 13 AS 14.48.120; 14 (3) establish task forces, committees, or subcommittees, not 15 necessarily consisting of commission members, to advise and assist the commission in 16 carrying out its functions; 17 (4) contract with or use existing institutions of postsecondary 18 education or other individuals or organizations to make studies, conduct surveys, 19 submit recommendations, or otherwise contribute to the work of the commission; 20 (5) establish fees for the review of an out-of-state institution that 21 (A) requests approval for participation in the programs under 22 AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.325, 14.43.510 - 14.43.750 [AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.750], 23 14.43.990, and AS 14.44; and 24 (B) is not accredited by a national or regional accreditation 25 association recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; 26 (6) collect all fees and costs incurred in collection of the amount owed 27 on a loan or repayment obligation if the loan or repayment obligation becomes 28 delinquent or in default; in this paragraph, fees and costs include attorney fees, court 29 costs, and collection fees charged by a collection agency; and 30 (7) if approved by the department, receive and analyze performance 31 data for students in grades kindergarten through 12 and enter into contracts for the
01 purpose of assessing education outcomes. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 14.43.810(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) The Alaska performance scholarship program is established to provide 04 scholarships for students who graduate from high school on or before July 15, 05 2016, [GRADUATES] who are Alaska residents to attend a qualified postsecondary 06 institution in the state. 07 * Sec. 3. AS 14.43.820(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) Subject to appropriation, the commission shall award an Alaska 09 performance scholarship to an applicant who 10 (1) is a resident of the state as defined in AS 01.10.055; 11 (2) graduated or will graduate within six months from a high school in 12 the state; 13 (3) except as provided in (c) of this section, has completed a core 14 academic curriculum of high school level coursework that includes 15 (A) four years of mathematics, four years of language arts, four 16 years of science, and four years of social studies, one year of which may 17 include a foreign language, an Alaska Native language, fine arts, or cultural 18 heritage; or 19 (B) three years of mathematics, four years of language arts, 20 three years of science, four years of social studies, and two years of a foreign 21 language or an Alaska Native language; 22 (4) has a minimum grade-point average in high school of 2.5 or higher; 23 the department shall set by regulation minimum requirements based on a substantially 24 similar standard for districts that do not assign grades; 25 (5) has achieved a minimum score on a 26 (A) college entrance examination; or 27 (B) standardized examination designed to measure a student's 28 level of preparedness to make the transition to work, as selected by the 29 department; [AND] 30 (6) is enrolled in good standing in a course of study at a qualified 31 postsecondary institution in this state that is intended to result in the award of a
01 certificate or degree; and 02 (7) applies to the commission on or before July 15, 2016. 03 * Sec. 4. AS 14.43.825(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) A student's eligibility for a scholarship terminates six years after the date 05 the student graduates from high school unless the student qualifies for an extension of 06 time allowed by the department by regulation. The department may not extend a 07 student's eligibility for a scholarship past July 15, 2022. 08 * Sec. 5. AS 14.45.130(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) A religious or other private school that elects to comply with AS 14.45.100 10 - 14.45.130 shall maintain permanent student records reflecting immunizations, 11 physical examinations, standardized testing, academic achievement, and courses taken 12 at the school [, AND LEVEL OF ELIGIBILITY FOR AN ALASKA 13 PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP UNDER AS 14.43.810 - 14.43.849]. 14 * Sec. 6. AS 37.14.750(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) The Alaska higher education investment fund is established in the general 16 fund [FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING GRANTS AWARDED UNDER 17 AS 14.43.400 - 14.43.420 BY APPROPRIATION TO THE ACCOUNT 18 ESTABLISHED UNDER AS 14.43.915(a) AND OF MAKING SCHOLARSHIP 19 PAYMENTS TO QUALIFIED POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS FOR 20 STUDENTS UNDER AS 14.43.810 - 14.43.849 BY APPROPRIATION TO THE 21 ACCOUNT ESTABLISHED UNDER AS 14.43.915(b)]. Money in the fund does not 22 lapse. The fund consists of 23 (1) money appropriated to the fund; 24 (2) income earned on investment of fund assets; and 25 (3) donations to the fund [; AND 26 (4) MONEY REDEPOSITED UNDER AS 14.43.915(c)]. 27 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.113 is repealed July 16, 2016. 28 * Sec. 8. AS 14.43.400, 14.43.405, 14.43,406, 14.43.415, 14.43.420, 14.43.810, 14.43.820, 29 14.43.825, 14.43.830, 14.43.840, 14.43.849, 14.43.915; and AS 37.14.750(c) are repealed 30 July 16, 2022. 31 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
01 read: 02 APPLICABILITY. The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education may not 03 award an Alaska performance scholarship under AS 14.43.810 - 14.43.849 to a new applicant 04 who first applies for a scholarship after July 15, 2016. 05 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education and Early 08 Development, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Alaska 09 Commission on Postsecondary Education may adopt regulations necessary to implement 10 changes made to their respective authorities by this Act. The regulations take effect under 11 AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the law being 12 implemented. 13 * Sec. 11. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 RETROACTIVITY. Sections 2 - 4 of this Act are retroactive to July 15, 2016. 16 * Sec. 12. Sections 1, 5, and 6 of this Act take effect July 16, 2022. 17 * Sec. 13. Except as provided in sec. 12 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 18 AS 01.10.070(c).