SB1439: Tuition Assistance Grant Program; amends criteria for higher educational institutions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 23-38.12 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 23-38.12. Program of tuition assistance established.
There is hereby established, from funds provided by law, a
program of tuition assistance in the form of grants, as hereinafter provided,
to or on behalf of bona fide residents of Virginia who attend private,
accredited and nonprofit institutions of collegiate education in the
Commonwealth whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate, graduate, or
professional education and not to provide religious training or theological
education. Eligible institutions not admitted to this program before January
1, 2011 shall also (i) be formed, chartered, established, or incorporated
within the Commonwealth; (ii) have their principal place of business within the
Commonwealth; (iii) conduct their primary educational activity within the
Commonwealth; and (iv) be accredited by an nationally recognized regional
accrediting agency. Individuals who have failed to meet the federal
requirement to register for the Selective Service shall not be eligible to
receive these grants. However, a person who has failed to register for the
Selective Service shall not be denied a right, privilege, or benefit under this
section if: (i) the requirement to so register has terminated or become
inapplicable to the person and (ii) the person shows by a preponderance of the
evidence that the failure to register was not a knowing and willful failure to
register. The State Council of Higher Education shall be assisted in enforcing
this provision by the private institutions of higher education whose students
benefit from this program. Unless otherwise indicated, as used in this
chapter "accredited" means any institution approved to confer degrees
pursuant to Chapter 21.1 (§ 23-276.1 et seq.) of this title.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 23-38.12 and 23-38.13 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 23-38.12. Program of tuition assistance established.
There is hereby established, from funds provided by law, a
program of tuition assistance in the form of grants, as hereinafter provided,
to or on behalf of bona fide residents of Virginia who attend private, nationally recognized, regionally accredited, and nonprofit institutions of
collegiate education in that are formed, chartered, or established within
the Commonwealth, or that were
admitted into this program as of January 1, 2011, whose
primary purpose is to provide collegiate, graduate, or professional education
and not to provide religious training or theological education. Individuals who
have failed to meet the federal requirement to register for the Selective
Service shall not be eligible to receive these grants. However, a person who
has failed to register for the Selective Service shall not be denied a right,
privilege, or benefit under this section if: (i) the requirement to so register
has terminated or become inapplicable to the person and (ii) the person shows
by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure to register was not a
knowing and willful failure to register. The State Council of Higher Education
shall be assisted in enforcing this provision by the private institutions of
higher education whose students benefit from this program. Unless otherwise
indicated, as used in this chapter "accredited" means any institution
approved to confer degrees pursuant to Chapter 21.1 (§ 23-276.1 et seq.) of this title.
§ 23-38.13. State Council of Higher Education designated as administering agency; power to define certain terms.
The State Council of Higher Education is hereby designated as the administering agency for the program established by this chapter, and authorized to promulgate regulations consistent therewith and appropriate to the administration of the program. The administering agency shall have the power to define by regulation such terms as, but not limited to, "full-time," "undergraduate," "graduate," "professional," "successful academic year," "financial aid," "meritorious extenuating circumstances," and "incapacity" as used in this chapter. The Council shall keep a current, and periodically updated, list of institutions eligible to receive grants pursuant to this chapter on behalf of eligible students.