SENATE BILL 2097
By Gresham AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 12,
Chapter 3; Title 49, Chapter 1 and Title 49,
Chapter 4, relative to higher education.
WHEREAS, Tennessee has become a national model for state investment in students pursuing postsecondary attainment through the HOPE Lottery Scholarships, the Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs; and WHEREAS, the purpose of these student-focused initiatives is to create a highly skilled,
credentialed workforce to ensure Tennessee's future economic prosperity and competitiveness;
and WHEREAS, the General Assembly supports making postsecondary enrollment and financial aid availability as transparent and attainable as possible for Tennessee students; now,
therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Financial Aid Simplification for Tennesseans (FAST) Act".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 12-3-102(a)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
The board of trustees of the University of Tennessee system, the Tennessee board of regents system, the state university boards, the Tennessee higher education commission, and the Tennessee student assistance corporation;
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 12-3-303(a)(4), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
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Contracts of the Tennessee higher education commission, the Tennessee student assistance corporation, and all state colleges and universities operated by the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee, the board of regents, and the state university boards do not need to be approved by the chief procurement officer; however,
these contracts are subject to applicable provisions of the rules and policies promulgated by the central procurement office and approved by the procurement commission; or SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-302(a)(10), is amended by
deleting the subdivision.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-202(a), is amended by deleting the subsection and substituting the following:
The Tennessee student assistance corporation is governed by a board of
directors consisting of the governor, the commissioner of education, the state treasurer,
the comptroller of the treasury, the commissioner of finance and administration, the president of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association, the president of the Tennessee Proprietary Business School Association, the president of
the University of Tennessee, the chancellor of the board of regents, the president of the Tennessee Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, two (2) students enrolled in an institution of higher education in Tennessee, and three (3) private citizens involved in the field of education, but not employed by or professionally affiliated with any institution of higher education in the state.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-202(d), is amended by deleting the subsection.
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-202(e), is amended by deleting the language "the director of the higher education commission," and "the chair of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities".
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SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 4, Part 2, is amended by
deleting the language "parts 2-7" wherever it appears in §§ 49-4-202 and 49-4-203 and substituting the language "parts 2, 3, and 6-9".
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-203(1), is amended by deleting the subdivision.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-204, is amended by deleting the section and substituting the following:
The Tennessee student assistance corporation is authorized and directed to
promulgate rules governing the making of awards of financial assistance to students that the corporation deems necessary to carry out and to make effective the purposes of
parts 2, 3, and 6-9 of this chapter.
SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-205, is amended by deleting the section.
SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-212(e), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting the following:
This program shall be available for participants who meet the eligibility criteria and complete an initial application no later than July 31, 2020, or a renewal application by the deadline published on the corporation's website each year thereafter. The availability of scholarship loans is subject to appropriation of funds in each year's general appropriations act.
SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-301(a)(1), is amended by
deleting the following language in subdivision (B):
Are enrolled or intend to enroll as full-time or part-time students in an institution of postsecondary education in this state that is either:
and substituting the following:
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Are enrolled or intend to enroll in an eligible program of study as defined in § 49-
4-902, as full-time or part-time students in an institution of postsecondary education in
this state that is either:
SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-301(a), is amended by adding the following as a new subdivision:
(4)
(A) A student in default on a federal Title IV educational loan or who owes a refund on a federal Title IV student financial aid program is ineligible for an award under this part, except that a student in default on a federal Title IV
educational loan or who owes a refund on a federal Title IV student financial aid program may be eligible for an award under this part if the student is in compliance with 34 C.F.R. 668.35; and
(B) A student in default on a Tennessee educational loan or who owes a refund on a Tennessee student financial aid program is ineligible for an award under this part.
SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-304(a)(1), is amended by
deleting the language "parts 2-7 of this chapter and the policies" and substituting the language
"this part and the policies and rules".
SECTION 16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 4, is amended by deleting Part 4.
SECTION 17. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 4, is amended by deleting Part 5.
SECTION 18. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-704(b)(7), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
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"Resident" means a person who was a resident of this state as classified pursuant to § 49-8-104, at the time the law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical service technician died or became totally and permanently disabled; and SECTION 19. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-705, is amended by deleting the section and substituting the following:
The Christa McAuliffe Scholarship program terminates effective July 1, 2020, at which time all funds remaining in the program's investment principal and investment earnings accounts shall be added to the reserve balances held by the student assistance corporation for the student assistance award under § 49-4-301. The transfer of funds is subject to transfer in the general appropriations act.
SECTION 20. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-706, is amended by deleting subsection (a) and substituting the following:
(a)
(1) The Tennessee student assistance corporation (TSAC) shall administer a minority teaching fellows program for talented Tennesseans who aspire to be teachers.
(2) Participation in the minority teaching fellows program is limited to:
(A) College juniors, seniors, and post-baccalaureate candidates admitted to educator preparation programs in this state who pledge to
teach in the public schools of this state for up to four (4) years; and
(B) Students who received the minority teaching fellows program award prior to July 1, 2021, and who continue to maintain all eligibility requirements.
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(3) Recipients must maintain continuous enrollment in a degree program leading to licensure as a teacher in a higher education institution within this state with an educator preparation program approved by the state board of education.
(4) Each fellowship award is in the amount of five thousand dollars
($5,000) and is renewable up to three (3) times, contingent upon satisfactory academic progress.
(5)
(A) Recipients who become public school teachers in this state shall receive forgiveness of the fellowship balance based on one (1)
year's teaching service for each year the fellowship was awarded.
(B) TSAC shall forgive the loan if, within seven (7) years after graduation, the recipient teaches for three (3) consecutive years, unless the recipient takes an approved leave of absence, at a public school in an LEA that, at the time the recipient accepts employment with the LEA, is determined to be a school system that is marginal or in need of
improvement as determined by the commissioner of education according to the school district accountability framework adopted by the state board of education. TSAC shall also forgive the loan because of the death or
permanent disability of the recipient.
SECTION 21. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(b)(4), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Eligible program of study" means, beginning with the fall semester of 2021, a federal Title IV-eligible curriculum of courses leading to a certificate, diploma, or associate degree at an eligible postsecondary institution. Courses taken at a four-year
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postsecondary institution prior to admission in, or that fulfill prerequisite requirements for,
an eligible program of study are not considered part of the eligible program of study;
SECTION 22. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(b)(7), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Home school student" means:
(A) A resident of this state who completed high school in a home school program prior to July 1, 2021, meeting the requirements of § 49-6-3050(a)(2),
(a)(3), or (b); or
(B) A resident of this state who completed high school in a home school program on or after July 1, 2021;
SECTION 23. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(b)(8), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Resident" means a student classified as a resident of this state pursuant to § 49-
8-104;
SECTION 24. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(b)(10), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Tennessee Promise scholarship student" means a student admitted to and enrolled in an eligible program of study; and SECTION 25. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(c)(1)(A)(iii), is amended by deleting the word "or" at the end of subdivision.
SECTION 26. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(c)(1)(A)(iv), is amended by deleting the word "and" at the end of the subdivision and substituting the word "or".
SECTION 27. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(c)(1)(A), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
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(v) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(2), graduation from an out-of-state public secondary school located in a county bordering this state; and SECTION 28. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(c)(8), is amended by
adding the language "certificate," before the language "diploma or associate degree" wherever it
appears.
SECTION 29. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-708(c)(8)(B)(ii), is amended by
deleting the language "diploma or degree" and substituting the language "certificate, diploma, or associate degree".
SECTION 30. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902, is amended by adding the following as a new subdivision:
"Eligible program of study" means, beginning with the fall semester of 2021, a federal Title IV-eligible curriculum of courses leading to a certificate, diploma, or an
associate or baccalaureate degree at an eligible postsecondary institution;
SECTION 31. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Academic year" means three (3) consecutive semesters beginning with a fall semester and including the immediately following spring and summer semesters;
SECTION 32. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(11), is amended by
deleting subdivisions (A), (B), and (C), and by adding the following language as a new subdivision:
( ) A private postsecondary institution accredited by a regional accrediting association that has its primary campus domiciled in this state;
SECTION 33. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(25), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
(25) "Home school student" means:
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(A) A resident of this state who completed high school in a home school program prior to July 1, 2021, meeting the requirements of § 49-6-3050(a)(2),
(a)(3), or (b), and for one (1) year immediately preceding completion of high school as a home school student, the student must have been a student in a home school; or
(B) A resident of this state who completed high school in a home school program on or after July 1, 2021;
SECTION 34. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(28), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Nontraditional student" means a student who is an independent student as
determined by the FAFSA and meets the qualifications under § 49-4-931;
SECTION 35. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(37), is amended by
inserting the language "coursework in an eligible program of" before the language "study in
pursuit of".
SECTION 36. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(38), is amended by
inserting the language "coursework in an eligible program of" before the language "study in
pursuit of".
SECTION 37. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(43), is amended by
deleting the word "Weighted" and substituting the words "High school" and redesignating the subdivision accordingly.
SECTION 38. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-902(44), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
"Wilder-Naifeh technical skills grant" means a grant for coursework in an eligible program of study at a Tennessee college of applied technology operated by the board of
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regents of the state university and community college system that is funded from net proceeds of the state lottery and awarded under this part.
SECTION 39. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-904, is amended by deleting subdivisions (3) and (4) and substituting the following:
(3) Is in default on a federal Title IV educational loan or owes a refund on a federal Title IV student financial aid program, except that a student in default on a federal Title IV educational loan or who owes a refund on a federal Title IV student financial aid program may be eligible for an award under this part if the student is in compliance with 34 C.F.R. 668.35;
(4) Is in default on a Tennessee educational loan or owes a refund on a Tennessee student financial aid program;
SECTION 40. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-905(a), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting the following:
(a) To be eligible for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship, Tennessee HOPE access grant, Tennessee HOPE teacher's scholarship or a Wilder-Naifeh technical skills grant, a student must:
(1) Be a resident of this state, as classified pursuant to § 49-8-104;
(2) Make application for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship, Tennessee HOPE access grant, Tennessee HOPE teacher's scholarship, or Wilder-Naifeh technical skills grant; and
(3) Be admitted to an eligible postsecondary institution.
SECTION 41. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-907(3)(A), is amended by
deleting the word "weighted".
SECTION 42. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-908(a)(3), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
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During a home school program or while attending an ineligible high school enroll in at least two (2) dual enrollment courses totaling at least six (6) semester hours credit at an eligible postsecondary institution and achieve a grade point average of at least 3.0
in each of two (2) dual enrollment courses and a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in all dual enrollment courses attempted;
SECTION 43. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-909(a)(2), is amended by
deleting the su