State Legislative Update
October 2016
Legislative news from across the SASFAA region, prepared by
your 2016-2017 SASFAA Legislative Relations Committee.
Christen Neher – SASFAA Legislative Relations Chair
Ron Gambill – TASFAA Governmental Relations ChairMary Kosin – NCASFAA Legislative Advisory Chair
Vanessa Fulton – GASFAA Legislative Affairs Chair
Erin Klarer – KASFAA Legislative Chair
Jennifer Epperson – AASFAA Legislative Relations Chair
Francisco Valines – FASFAA Legislative Relation Chair
Della Bays – VASFAA Government Relations Chair
Michael Moseley – MASFAA Legislative Chair
Joey Derrick – SCASFAA Legislative Relations Chair
Amy Berrier – SASFAA Past President
Alabama
U.S. Secretary of Education, John King, joins Governor
Robert Bentley on visit to Limestone Prison:
Alabama Community College
Merges Continue:
Tennessee
Tennessee Achieves, a partnering organization to the Tennessee
Promise program, is seeking 9,000 mentors to work with high school students
from the class of 2017. Mentors serve as
a resource for first generation college students seeking to participate in the
Tennessee Promise program.
On Tuesday, September 27, 2016, the Board of the
Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation met and adopted changes to the rules
for the Tennessee Promise Scholarship and the Ned McWherter Scholars Program to
increase participation and simplify the process for students. Additionally, the Board approved the
Operating Budget Request for 2017-2018.
Kentucky
Revenue from the Kentucky Lottery funds the three largest
and most well-known grant and scholarship programs in our state: The
merit-based Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship or KEES, and two
need-based programs, the College Access Program (CAP) and the Kentucky Tuition
Grant (KTG). While the KEES program will not be affected by the early FAFSA
application period, CAP and KTG are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis
with the FAFSA serving as the only application. Last week two media events were
sponsored by the Kentucky Lottery in the Louisville and Lexington TV markets,
as well as through print and social media, to gain awareness of the October 1
FAFSA date. Officials from the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority
gave advice on using 2015 tax information, creating unique usernames and
passwords, as well as other helpful tips for students and families when
completing their applications. Until a recent legislative change, the
Kentucky Lottery was prohibited from advertising that their revenue funded
state education programs. Since that law has been repealed, however, the
Kentucky Lottery has become a great partner in advocacy and awareness for
student financial aid.
Georgia
REACH Signing Day – September 20th, 2016
The REACH (Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen) program
was launched by Governor Deal in 2012 and is administrated by the Georgia
Student Finance Authority. School systems partner with REACH and identity
academically promising, low-income eighth grade students to receive the REACH
scholarships. The students are paired with a mentor and an academic coach
through high school and upon high school graduation they are awarded up to a
$10,000 scholarship to be used at a Georgia HOPE-eligible two or four year
college. On September 20th GSFC announced that 353 Georgia students
became REACH Scholars bringing the total Scholar participants to over 680 in 69
participating school districts. This year’s signing day REACH launched a pilot
program in partnership with the Division of Family and Children Services to
bring the REACH program to 30 foster youth students. “The REACH program is a
strategic investment in our students as well as our state, opening doors for
youth in Georgia who may not otherwise be able to afford postsecondary
education, “ said Deal. “The Scholars who signed contracts today and among
Georgia’s most promising students and this commitment will help them attend college
and achieve their dreams.”
Mississippi
The Mississippi Post-Secondary Education Financial
Assistance Board voted on September 19th to request the Legislature repeal nine
programs it considers “small, ineffective, outdated or misplaced
state-supported Student Financial Aid programs.” The financial assistance
board’s recommendations will be considered by the Legislature during its 2017
session.
Currently, the state authorizes 37 different state
financial aid programs. Three of those programs, the Mississippi Eminent
Scholars Grant, the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant and the Higher
Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students, account for 76 percent of the
funds awarded to students each year. The remaining 34 programs, which include
the 10 considered by the board Monday, account for only 24 percent.
Source and list of programs recommended for repeal can be
found here:
https://mississippitoday.org/2016/09/19/student-financial-aid-programs-may-be-terminated/
MS Post-Secondary Education Financial Assistance Board
meetings and minutes:
http://riseupms.com/state-aid/mississippi-postsecondary-education-financial-assistance-board/
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