SENATE Substitute For
HOUSE BILL NO. 5580
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled
"The state school aid act of 1979,"
by amending section 256 (MCL 388.1856), as amended by 2019 PA 62.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 256. (1) The funds appropriated in section 236
for the tuition incentive program shall must be
distributed as provided in this section and pursuant to the administrative
procedures for the tuition incentive program of the department of treasury.
(2) As used in this
section:
(a) "Phase I"
means the first part of the tuition incentive program defined as the academic
period of 80 semester or 120 term credits, or less, leading to an associate
degree or certificate. Students must be enrolled in a certificate or associate
degree program and taking classes within the program of study for a certificate
or associate degree. Tuition will not be covered for courses outside of a
certificate or associate degree program.
(b) "Phase II"
means the second part of the tuition incentive program which that provides assistance in the third and
fourth year of 4-year degree programs.
(c) "Department"
means the department of treasury.
(d) "High school
equivalency certificate" means that term as defined in section 4.
(3) An individual shall must meet the following basic criteria
and financial thresholds to be eligible for tuition incentive program benefits:
(a) To be eligible for
phase I, an individual shall must meet all of the following criteria:
(i) Apply for certification to the department any time after he
or she begins the sixth grade but before August 31 of the school year in
which he or she graduates from high school or before achieving a high school
equivalency certificate.
(ii) Be less than 20
years of age at the time he or she graduates from high school with a diploma or
certificate of completion or achieves a high school equivalency certificate or,
for students attending a 5-year middle college approved by the Michigan
department of education, be less than 21 years of age when he or she graduates
from high school.
(iii) Be a United
States citizen and a resident of this state according to institutional
criteria.
(iv) Be at least a
half-time student, earning less than 80 semester or 120 term credits at a
participating educational institution within 4 years of high school graduation
or achievement of a high school equivalency certificate. All program
eligibility expires 6 years from high school graduation or achievement of a
high school equivalency certificate.
(v) Meet the
satisfactory academic progress policy of the educational institution he or she
attends.
(b) To be eligible for phase II, an individual shall must meet either of the
following criteria in addition to the criteria in subdivision (a):
(i) Complete at least
56 transferable semester or 84 transferable term credits.
(ii) Obtain an
associate degree or certificate at a participating institution.
(c) To be eligible for phase I or phase II, an individual
must be financially eligible as determined by the department. An individual is
financially eligible for the tuition incentive program if he or she was
eligible for Medicaid from this state for 24 months within the 36 consecutive
months before application. The department shall accept certification of
Medicaid eligibility only from the department of health and human services for
the purposes of verifying if a person is Medicaid eligible for 24 months within
the 36 consecutive months before application. Certification of eligibility may
begin in the sixth grade.
(4) For phase I, the department shall provide payment on
behalf of a person eligible under subsection (3). The department shall
only accept standard per-credit hour tuition billings and shall reject billings
that are excessive or outside the guidelines for the type of educational
institution.
(5) For phase I, all of the following apply:
(a) Payments for associate degree or certificate programs shall must not be made for
more than 80 semester or 120 term credits for any individual student at any
participating institution.
(b) For persons enrolled at a Michigan community college, the
department shall pay the current in-district tuition and mandatory fees. For
persons residing in an area that is not included in any community college
district, the out-of-district tuition rate may be authorized.
(c) For persons enrolled at a Michigan public university, the
department shall pay lower division resident tuition and mandatory fees for the
current year.
(d) For persons enrolled at a Michigan independent, nonprofit
degree-granting college or university, or a Michigan federal tribally
controlled community college, or Focus: HOPE, the department shall pay
mandatory fees for the current year and a per-credit payment that does not
exceed the average community college in-district per-credit tuition rate as
reported on August 1, for the immediately preceding academic year.
(6) A person participating in phase II may be eligible for
additional funds not to exceed $500.00 per semester or $400.00 per term up to a
maximum of $2,000.00 subject to the following conditions:
(a) Credits are earned in a 4-year program at a Michigan
degree-granting 4-year college or university.
(b) The tuition reimbursement is for coursework completed
within 30 months of completion of the phase I requirements.
(7) The department shall work closely with participating
institutions to develop an application and eligibility determination process
that will provide the highest level of participation and ensure that all
requirements of the program are met.
(8) Applications for the tuition incentive program may be
approved at any time after the student begins the sixth grade. If a
determination of financial eligibility is made, that determination is valid as
long as the student meets all other program requirements and conditions.
(9) Each Except as otherwise provided in
section 3(d) of the Michigan reconnect grant act and section 17 of the Michigan
reconnect grant recipient act, each institution shall ensure that
all known available restricted grants for tuition and fees are used prior to
billing the tuition incentive program for any portion of a student's tuition
and fees.
(10) The department shall ensure that the tuition incentive
program is well publicized and that eligible Medicaid clients are provided
information on the program. The department shall provide the necessary funding
and staff to fully operate the program.
(11) Any unexpended and unencumbered funds remaining on
September 30, 2020 from the amounts appropriated in section 236 for the tuition
incentive program for fiscal year 2019-2020 do not lapse on September 30, 2020,
but continue to be available for expenditure for tuition incentive program
funds under a work project account.
(12) The department of treasury shall collaborate with the
center to use the P-20 longitudinal data system to report the following
information for each qualified postsecondary institution:
(a) The number of phase I students in the most recently
completed academic year who in any academic year received a tuition incentive
program award and who successfully completed a degree or certificate program.
Cohort graduation rates for phase I students shall be calculated using the
established success rate methodology developed by the center in collaboration
with the postsecondary institutions.
(b) The number of students in the most recently completed
academic year who in any academic year received a Pell grant at the reporting
institution and who successfully completed a degree or certificate program.
Cohort graduation rates for students who received Pell grants shall must be calculated
using the established success rate methodology developed by the center in
collaboration with the postsecondary institutions.
(13) If a qualified postsecondary institution does not report
the data necessary to comply with subsection (12) to the P-20 longitudinal
data system, the institution shall report, in a form and manner satisfactory to
the department of treasury and the center, all of the information needed to
comply with subsection (12) by December 1 2020.
(14) Beginning in fiscal year 2020-2021, if a qualified
postsecondary institution does not report the data necessary to complete the
reporting in subsection (12) to the P-20 longitudinal data system by October 15
for the prior academic year, the department of treasury shall not award phase I
tuition incentive program funding to otherwise eligible students enrolled in
that institution until the data are submitted.
Enacting section
1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless both of the following bills
of the 100th Legislature are enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill
No. 268.
(b) House Bill
No. 5576.