HB 1865 -- Higher Education

Sponsor:  Bearden

This bill revises the laws regarding several student assistance
programs and makes changes to appropriations and oversight for
public higher education based on student assistance and
institutional performance.

The Access Missouri Scholarship Program is established to provide
assistance to college freshmen who are not eligible for the A+
Program or have chosen institutions not covered by the A+
Program.  The maximum award will be $1,000, phased in over four
years.  The new program, as well as the Gallagher, Guarantee, and
Bright Flight programs, has a 2.5 grade point average requirement
for renewal.  The 2.5 initial qualifying grade point average and
extracurricular activity for the Guarantee Program are
eliminated.  Obsolete language is deleted, and the Gallagher
Program's criminal background disqualifications are changed to be
the same as those in the Guarantee Program.

The bill sets the 2001 fiscal year's operating appropriation as a
starting point for a change in the way appropriations are made.
Once the 2001 level is achieved, appropriations will be directed
toward student assistance programs rather than institutional aid,
until the main assistance programs are fully funded.  At 75% and
100% of full assistance funding, the General Assembly may
consider resetting appropriations levels.  Five major performance
measures will be developed by the Department of Higher Education
in conjunction with higher education institutions.  Institutions
will enter into performance contracts for up to five years.

Beginning July 1, 2007, the Coordinating Board for Higher
Education will be responsible for several aspects of education
delivery, including areas where the cost of services may not be
met by tuition, through annual fee-for-services contracts with
public and private institutions.

A 14-member Joint Committee on Higher Education is established to
disseminate the data from the contracts and changes in the
assistance programs.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:44 am