[Okepas] Oklahoma Legislature Passes Bill with Changes to the Oklahoma's Promise Scholarship

[Nelson, Lisa]

Here is information about the current status of SB 529:

Yesterday, the Oklahoma Legislature gave final approval to SB 529, a bill making several very important changes to the Oklahoma's Promise scholarship program.  The bill passed by final votes of 42-0 in the Oklahoma Senate and 87-3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.  The bill has now been sent to the Governor.  The Governor has 5 days (excluding Sundays) to act on the bill.  The text of the bill can be found at http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2017-18%20ENR/SB/SB529%20ENR.PDF.  The bill contains the following changes:

*        Increasing the application family income limit to $55,000 AGI beginning in 2017-18:  The current $50,000 limit has not been adjusted since 2000.  The adjustment to $55,000 based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) would apply to 8th, 9th, and 10th-grade applicants beginning in the 2017-18 school year.  The change would not have a fiscal impact on the program until 2020-21 when the 2017-18 tenth-graders reach college.  The bill also calls for the income limit to be further adjusted to $60,000 for 8th, 9th, and 10th-grade applicants beginning in 2021-22.
*        Authorizing more postsecondary career technology certificate programs:  Currently, only career technology courses that qualify for college credit are eligible for the use of the scholarship.  This change would allow the OKPromise scholarship to be used for any certificate program at a career technology center that qualifies for federal financial aid.  This change would be consistent with other state and federal financial aid policy.
*        Aligning scholarship retention requirements with college degree-completion standards:  To maximize college degree-completion, the scholarship retention requirements would be aligned with the college or university's degree-completion standards.

The bill also contains several important reforms to help ensure that the scholarship expenditures are effective and efficient.
*        Beginning in 2018-19, the OKPromise scholarship would no longer pay for zero-credit college remedial courses:  Many colleges are in the process of reforming remediation to provide supplemental academic support within credit-earning courses.  In addition, many high school seniors will soon have access to College Career Math Ready courses that are designed to address math remediation needs during the student's senior year of high school.
*        Beginning in 2018-19, the second family income check at $100,000 would be applied every year in college:  Currently, the second income check at $100,000 is conducted only one time when the student starts college.  Under the change, a student would not be eligible for the scholarship in any year that their family income exceeds $100,000.
*        Cap the number of credit hours paid by the scholarship in college:  The bill requires the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to establish a maximum limit on the number of credit hours for which the scholarship will pay during the student's five years of scholarship eligibility.  This limit has not been set yet, but will likely become effective for students entering college in fall 2018.


Lisa Nelson
Assistant Director of Student Preparation
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
lnelson at osrhe.edu<mailto:lnelson at osrhe.edu>
www.okhighered.org/student-prep<http://www.okhighered.org/student-prep>
Cell:  580.614.1328

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

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