LB1101 LB1101
2024 2024
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1101
Introduced by Hardin, 48.
Read first time January 09, 2024
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to education; to require a memorandum of
2 understanding regarding the Public Health Early Admission Student
3 Track Program and the Rural Health Opportunities Program; to provide
4 for tuition waivers to eligible students as prescribed; and to state
5 intent regarding appropriations.
6 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. (1) For purposes of this section, program means the
2 Public Health Early Admission Student Track Program that encourages
3 students to pursue public health careers in rural communities.
4 (2) The Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges and the
5 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall enter into a
6 memorandum of understanding to administer the program, including the
7 eligibility requirements for the program, the student application and
8 selection process, and the participation requirements for the program.
9 The eligibility requirements shall include, but need not be limited to,
10 that the applicant is a Nebraska resident attending a Nebraska state
11 college. The participation requirements shall include, but need not be
12 limited to, a visit to the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus,
13 successful completion of the foundations of public health online course,
14 successful completion of an entry level statistics course, successful
15 completion of the Graduate Records Examinations standardized test, and
16 any additional admission and experience requirements specified by the
17 board of trustees and the Board of Regents.
18 (3) A student participating in the program is entitled to a waiver
19 of one hundred percent of the cost of tuition and fees for up to seventy-
20 two undergraduate credit hours at a state college in Nebraska for
21 purposes of completing the established public health coursework necessary
22 for early admission to the University of Nebraska Medical Center College
23 of Public Health.
24 (4) A state college shall waive one hundred percent of the cost of
25 tuition and fees for up to seventy-two undergraduate credit hours at such
26 state college for a student who qualifies under the program.
27 (5) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate an amount
28 equal to or more than one-half of the cost of the tuition waivers granted
29 pursuant to this section using General Funds to the Board of Trustees of
30 the Nebraska State Colleges for purposes of granting tuition waivers
31 under the program.
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1 Sec. 2. (1) For purposes of this section, program means the Rural
2 Health Opportunities Program that encourages students from rural
3 communities to pursue health care professions and return to practice in
4 those rural communities.
5 (2) The Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges and the
6 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall enter into a
7 memorandum of understanding to administer the program, including a joint
8 application and interview process to select students to participate in
9 the program and be provisionally admitted into one of the eligible health
10 care programs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. To be
11 eligible, students shall:
12 (a) Attend or be a graduate of an approved or accredited high school
13 in Nebraska or receive an equivalent of a diploma of high school
14 equivalency in Nebraska; and
15 (b) Have lived in or been a resident of a rural area of Nebraska as
16 determined by the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges and
17 the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.
18 (3) A student who participates in the program is entitled to a
19 waiver of one hundred percent of the cost of tuition and fees at a state
20 college per academic year for up to four years for the purpose of
21 completing the established health care program coursework at such state
22 college that is required for early admission and transfer to an eligible
23 health care program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
24 (4) A state college shall waive one hundred percent of the cost of
25 tuition and fees at such state college for a student who qualifies under
26 the program.
27 (5) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate an amount
28 equal to or more than one-half of the cost of the tuition waivers granted
29 pursuant to this section using General Funds to the Board of Trustees of
30 the Nebraska State Colleges for purposes of granting tuition waivers
31 under the program.
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