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COMMITTEE ACTION:
SSB 3048 – Student Aid Commission registration technical changes
SSB 3048 is a departmental bill from the College Student Aid Commission that makes technical changes to remove exception language that was intended for Iowa-originating schools that are no longer relevant. The bill requires the tuition refund policy for Iowa resident students of a for-profit school to comply with current standards for refund policies and penalties for violating those standards. A violation is a simple misdemeanor.
Under current law, these requirements do not apply to Hamilton Technical College, which was intended to be exempted from registration as an Iowa-originating school owned by the family founders. However, the Hamilton family sold the school to an out-of-state educational corporation, Orion Education, in late 2018, so it should no longer qualify for an exemption.
The bill also strikes the registration exemption for INSTE Bible College since it intentionally allowed its U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditation to lapse.
[1/26: Short Form (Absent: Zaun)]
SSB 3047 – Non-con technical terminology clean up departmental bill
SSB 3047 is a non-con technical clean up departmental bill that changes the terminology for the services provided to students who need additional help learning English since their native language is something else. The bill modifies Iowa Code to replace references to a student who is “limited English proficient” with “English learner.”
Actions in the bill regarding post-secondary accreditation are conforming and technical, including compliance with the faculty accreditation standards that are consistent with standards for accrediting community college programs.
[1/26: Short Form (Absent: Zaun)]
SSB 3046 – Expanded eligibility for Future Ready Last Dollar Scholarship
SSB 3046 makes changes to the Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship, which covers the gap between federal and state scholarships/grants and tuition and qualified fees for students who enroll in programs that lead to high-demand jobs in Iowa.
Currently, students under 20 must enroll full time in an eligible program. There are a number of part-time students who are under 20 who are not currently being served by the program. In addition, agency staff have been contacted by students who completed a significant number of college courses while in high school, only to find out they don’t have enough remaining credits to enroll on a full-time basis and qualify for the program. These students are currently ineligible for the program.
SSB 3046 expands the program by allowing all students under 20 to enroll part-time and qualify for the program, regardless of credit hours earned or full-time study status.
[1/26: Short Form (Absent: Zaun)]