SF 3128

Subdivision 1.

Scholarship deleted text begin pilotdeleted text end program established.

The commissioner must establish
a scholarship deleted text begin pilotdeleted text end program to support undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing
to become teachers, have demonstrated financial need, and belong to racial or ethnic groups
underrepresented in the state's teacher workforce.

Subd. 2.

Eligibility.

(a) To be eligible for a scholarship under this section, an applicant
must:

(1) new text begin either: (i) new text end be admitted and enrolled in a teacher preparation program approved by
the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and be seeking initial licensuredeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;new text end
or new text begin (ii) new text end be enrolled in an eligible institution under new text begin Minnesota Statutes, new text end section 136A.103new text begin ,new text end and
be completing deleted text begin a two-year program specifically designed to prepare early childhood educatorsdeleted text end new text begin
an associate's degree in early childhood education, education, or special educationnew text end ;

(2) affirm to the teacher preparation program or the Office of Higher Education that the
applicant is a person of color or American Indian;

(3) be meeting satisfactory academic progress as defined under new text begin Minnesota Statutes,
new text end section 136A.101, subdivision 10; and

(4) demonstrate financial need based on criteria developed by the commissioner.

(b) An eligible applicant may receive a scholarship award more than once, but may
receive a total of no more than deleted text begin $25,000deleted text end new text begin $30,000new text end in scholarship awards from the program.

new text begin (c) An applicant may apply for both a scholarship under this section and an
underrepresented student teacher grant under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.1274, but
may not receive an award from both programs during the same academic semester or term
unless there are sufficient funds appropriated to support all eligible applicants.
new text end

Subd. 3.

Scholarship award amount.

(a) The commissioner must establish a priority
application deadline and must give equal consideration to all eligible applicants regardless
of the new text begin applicant's attended institution or the new text end order the application was received before the
priority application deadline. If the funds available for the program are insufficient to make
full awards to all eligible applicants who apply on or before the deadline, the commissioner
must make awards based on the deleted text begin expected family contributiondeleted text end new text begin Student Aid Indexnew text end of an
applicant, prioritizing applicants with the lowest deleted text begin expected family contributionsdeleted text end new text begin Student Aid
Indexesnew text end . If there are multiple complete applications with identical deleted text begin expected family
contributionsdeleted text end new text begin Student Aid Indexesnew text end ,new text begin awards must be randomly selected starting withnew text end those
applications deleted text begin may be prioritized bydeleted text end new text begin received by the prioritynew text end application deleted text begin completion datedeleted text end new text begin
deadline established by the commissionernew text end .

(b) new text begin For eligible applicants enrolled in a teacher preparation program as part of a
baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree program, new text end the maximum award amount is $10,000
per year for full-time studynew text begin that may be used to defray a teacher candidate's overall cost of
attendance as determined by their attended institutionnew text end . new text begin For eligible applicants enrolled in
an associate's degree program, the maximum award amount is $6,000 per year for full-time
study. new text end For undergraduate students, full-time study means enrollment in a minimum of deleted text begin 15deleted text end new text begin
12new text end or more credits per term. For graduate students, full-time study means enrollment in a
minimum of six graduate credits or the equivalent.

(c) If an eligible applicant is enrolled new text begin full time new text end in a program for new text begin only new text end one term during
the academic year, the new text begin applicant may receive no more than half of the applicable new text end maximum
award amount deleted text begin is $5,000deleted text end . If an eligible applicant is enrolled deleted text begin partdeleted text end new text begin less than fullnew text end time, the award
amount must be prorated on a per-credit basis.

(d) Subject to the funds available for the program, and subject to the limitation in
paragraph (e), the minimum award amount established under this section for full-time study
must be no less than $1,000 per year.

(e) An eligible applicant's individual award amount must not exceed the applicant's cost
of attendance after deducting: (1) the student's deleted text begin expected family contributiondeleted text end new text begin Student Aid
Indexnew text end ; (2) the sum of all state or federal grants and gift aid received, including a Pell Grant
and state deleted text begin grantdeleted text end new text begin grantsnew text end ; (3) the sum of all institutional grants, scholarships, tuition waivers,
and tuition remission amounts; and (4) the amount of any private grants or scholarships.

(f) Awards are made until available funds are expended. Eligible applicants who
completed their applications on or before the priority application deadline but who did not
receive an award due to insufficient funds, and eligible applicants who completed their
applications after the priority application deadline, shall be placed on an award waiting list
by order of application completion date.

Subd. 4.

Administration.

(a) The commissioner must establish an application process
for individual students and institutions on behalf of all eligible students at the institution
and other guidelines for implementing the scholarship program.

(b) A scholarship award must be paid to the eligible applicant's teacher preparation
institution on behalf of the eligible applicant. Awards may be paid only when the institution
has confirmed to the commissioner the applicant's name, racial or ethnic identity, gender,
licensure area sought, and enrollment status.

new text begin Subd. 4a. new text end

new text begin Account established. new text end

new text begin An aspiring Minnesota teachers of color scholarship
program account is created in the special revenue fund for depositing money appropriated
to or received by the commissioner for the scholarship program. Money deposited in the
account is appropriated to the commissioner, does not cancel, and is continuously available
for scholarship awards under this section.
new text end

Subd. 5.

Service expectation.

An applicant who receives a scholarship under this section
is expected to serve as a full-time teacher in Minnesota after completing the program for
which the scholarship was awarded.

Subd. 6.

Report.

By December 15 of each year, the commissioner must submit a full
report on the details of the scholarship program for the previous fiscal year to the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over deleted text begin E-12deleted text end new text begin kindergarten through grade 12 educationnew text end and higher
education finance and policy. The reports must also be made available on the Office of
Higher Education's website. The reports must include the following information:

(1) the number of applicants and the number of award recipients, each broken down by
postsecondary institution with ten or more recipients;

(2) the total number of awards, the total dollar amount of all awards, and the average
award amount;

(3) summary data on the racial or ethnic identity, gender, licensure area sought, and
enrollment status of all applicants and award recipients; and

(4) other summary data identified by the commissioner as outcome indicators.