1| STATE OF OKLAHOMA | | | 2| 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023) | | | 3|HOUSE BILL 1015 By: West (Rick) | | | 4| | | | 5| | | | 6| AS INTRODUCED | | | 7| An Act relating to the Oklahoma Higher Learning | | Access Program; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2603, | 8| which relates to program eligibility; modifying | | minimum ACT score for certain students; and providing | 9| an effective date. | | | 10| | | | 11| | | | 12|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: | | | 13| SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2603, is | | | 14|amended to read as follows: | | | 15| Section 2603. A. Except as otherwise provided for in | | | 16|subsection B of this section and elsewhere in this section, to be | | | 17|eligible to participate in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access | | | 18|Program and to qualify for an award which includes payment of an | | | 19|amount equivalent to resident tuition or other tuition pursuant to | | | 20|Section 2604 of this title for the first semester or other academic | | | 21|unit of postsecondary enrollment, a student shall: | | | 22| 1. Be a resident of this state or be enrolled in a school | | | 23|district located in this state that serves students who reside in | | | 24| | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 1 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|both this state and an adjacent state pursuant to a contract as | | | 2|authorized in Section 5-117.1 of this title; | | | 3| 2. Be a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United | | | 4|States. A student who is not a United States citizen or lawfully | | | 5|present in the United States shall not be eligible to participate in | | | 6|the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program and to qualify for an | | | 7|award notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3242 of this title. | | | 8|The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any student who | | | 9|was enrolled in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program prior to | | | 10|the end of the 2006-2007 school year; | | | 11| 3. Have a record of satisfactory compliance with agreements | | | 12|executed pursuant to Section 2605 of this title; | | | 13| 4. a. have graduated within the previous three (3) years | | | 14| from a high school accredited by the State Board of | | | 15| Education, or the Oklahoma School of Science and | | | 16| Mathematics with a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point | | | 17| average on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted in | | | 18| grades nine through twelve, | | | 19| b. have graduated within the previous three (3) years | | | 20| from a high school not accredited by the State Board | | | 21| of Education with a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point | | | 22| average on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted in | | | 23| grades nine through twelve and have achieved a | | | 24| composite score of2219 or higher on the ACT test, or | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| c. have satisfactorily completed within the previous | | | 2| three (3) years an educational program that was | | | 3| provided through a means other than a public or | | | 4| private school and have achieved a composite score of | | | 5|2219 or higher on the ACT test; | | | 6| 5. Have completed the curricular requirements for admission to | | | 7|an institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education | | | 8|and one additional unit or set of competencies in a course that | | | 9|meets college admission requirements. The curriculum requirements | | | 10|shall include two units or sets of competencies in foreign or | | | 11|non-English language or technology courses that meet the college | | | 12|admission requirements and one unit or set of competencies of a fine | | | 13|arts course. Students shall also have attained a 2.5 grade point | | | 14|average in the core curriculum courses. Students who attended a | | | 15|high school which did not offer all the core curriculum courses or | | | 16|students who were educated by other means and were not offered all | | | 17|the core curriculum courses shall be allowed to satisfy this | | | 18|curriculum requirement by participating in a program approved by the | | | 19|State Regents for remediation of high school curricular | | | 20|deficiencies; | | | 21| 6. Have satisfied admission standards as determined by the | | | 22|Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for first-time-entering | | | 23|students for the appropriate type of institution, or, if attending a | | | 24|private institution, have satisfied admission standards as | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 3 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|determined by the private institution. No student participating in | | | 2|the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program shall be admitted into | | | 3|an institution of higher education by special admission standards; | | | 4| 7. Have secured admission to, and enrolled in, an institution | | | 5|which is a member of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, | | | 6|a postsecondary vocational-technical program offered by a technology | | | 7|center school that meets the requirements to be eligible for federal | | | 8|student financial aid, or a private institution of higher learning | | | 9|located within this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of | | | 10|this title; and | | | 11| 8. a. have established financial need according to the | | | 12| provisions of subsection D of Section 2605 of this | | | 13| title and standards and provisions promulgated by the | | | 14| Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, | | | 15| b. if the student was adopted between birth and twelve | | | 16| (12) years of age while in the permanent custody of | | | 17| the Department of Human Services, in the court-ordered | | | 18| custody of a licensed private nonprofit child-placing | | | 19| agency, or federally recognized Indian tribe, as | | | 20| defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, have | | | 21| established financial need according to the provisions | | | 22| of paragraph 1 of subsection E of Section 2605 of this | | | 23| title and standards and provisions promulgated by the | | | 24| Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, or | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 4 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| c. if the student was adopted between thirteen (13) and | | | 2| seventeen (17) years of age while in the permanent | | | 3| custody of the Department of Human Services, in the | | | 4| court-ordered custody of a licensed private nonprofit | | | 5| child-placing agency, or federally recognized Indian | | | 6| tribe, as defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare | | | 7| Act, have established financial need according to the | | | 8| provisions of paragraph 2 of subsection E of Section | | | 9| 2605 of this title and standards and provisions | | | 10| promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher | | | 11| Education. | | | 12| B. 1. A student shall be eligible to participate in the | | | 13|Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program and to qualify for an award | | | 14|which includes payment of an amount equivalent to resident tuition | | | 15|or other tuition pursuant to Section 2604 of this title for the | | | 16|first semester or other academic unit of postsecondary enrollment if | | | 17|the student meets all of the following criteria: | | | 18| a. is a child of any person killed after January 1, | | | 19| 2000, in the line of duty in any branch of the United | | | 20| States Armed Forces or who died after January 1, 2000, | | | 21| as a result of an injury sustained while in the line | | | 22| of duty in any branch of the United States Armed | | | 23| Forces and the person who was killed or died filed an | | | 24| individual or joint Oklahoma income tax return for the | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 5 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| tax year prior to the year during which the person was | | | 2| killed or died, | | | 3| b. is a resident of this state or is enrolled in a | | | 4| school district located in this state that serves | | | 5| students who reside in both this state and an adjacent | | | 6| state pursuant to a contract as authorized in Section | | | 7| 5-117.1 of this title, | | | 8| c. enrolls in an institution within The Oklahoma State | | | 9| System of Higher Education prior to reaching the age | | | 10| of twenty-one (21), | | | 11| d. has satisfied admission standards as determined by | | | 12| the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for | | | 13| first-time-entering students for the appropriate type | | | 14| of institution, or, if attending a private | | | 15| institution, has satisfied admission standards as | | | 16| determined by the private institution. No student | | | 17| participating in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access | | | 18| Program shall be admitted into an institution of | | | 19| higher education by special admission standards, | | | 20| e. has secured admission to, and enrolled in, an | | | 21| institution which is a member of The Oklahoma State | | | 22| System of Higher Education, a postsecondary | | | 23| vocational-technical program offered by a technology | | | 24| center school that meets the requirements to be | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 6 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| eligible for federal student financial aid, or a | | | 2| private institution of higher learning located within | | | 3| this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of | | | 4| this title, and | | | 5| f. executes an agreement pursuant to subsection C of | | | 6| Section 2605 of this title. | | | 7| 2. A student who is eligible to participate in the program | | | 8|pursuant to this subsection shall not be required to meet the | | | 9|eligibility requirements set forth in subsection A of this section. | | | 10| C. To retain eligibility while pursuing the program of higher | | | 11|learning in which enrolled, the student shall: | | | 12| 1. Meet the requirements for retention and degree completion as | | | 13|established by the institution in which the student is enrolled; | | | 14| 2. Maintain good academic standing and satisfactory academic | | | 15|progress according to standards of the Oklahoma State Regents for | | | 16|Higher Education; | | | 17| 3. Maintain satisfactory academic progress as required for | | | 18|eligibility for federal Title IV student financial aid programs. | | | 19|The provisions of this paragraph shall become effective for the | | | 20|2012-2013 school year; | | | 21| 4. Comply with the standards related to maintenance of | | | 22|eligibility as promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher | | | 23|Education; and | | | 24| | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 7 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| 5. Refrain from conduct that leads to expulsion or suspension | | | 2|of more than one semester from an institution of higher education. | | | 3|A student who violates the provisions of this paragraph shall | | | 4|permanently lose eligibility for program benefits. The provisions | | | 5|of this paragraph shall become effective January 1, 2008. | | | 6| D. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the | | | 7|State Board of Career and Technology Education shall promulgate | | | 8|rules relating to maintenance of eligibility under the Oklahoma | | | 9|Higher Learning Access Act by a student. | | | 10| E. It is the intent of the Legislature that students in the | | | 11|ninth grade for the 1992-93 school year who are determined to be | | | 12|eligible Oklahoma Higher Learning Access students pursuant to the | | | 13|Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Act shall be the first students | | | 14|eligible for benefits from the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Trust | | | 15|Fund. | | | 16| F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are | | | 17|authorized to study, develop and propose criteria for determining | | | 18|award eligibility based upon the completion of seven semesters of | | | 19|high school coursework by a student. | | | 20| SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023. | | | 21| | | | 22| 59-1-5407 EK 12/01/22 | | | 23| | | | 24| | | | Req. No. 5407 Page 8