HB 685 -- Higher Education

Co-Sponsors:  Kissell, Gross, Ostmann, Chrismer, Luetkenhaus,
Dolan, Bennett

Under current law, students successfully participating in the A+
schools program are eligible to receive reimbursement for the
costs of attending any public community college or vocational or
technical school.  This bill expands the allowable reimbursement
to include accredited 4 year public or private higher education
institutions; the reimbursement provided for attendance at these
schools is limited to the cost of books plus the statewide
average in-district tuition and fees at public community
colleges, as determined by the Coordinating Board for Higher
Education for the previous year.

The bill also requires the State Board of Education, in making
its evaluation of teacher education programs, to approve any
such program at public and private institutions meeting regional
or national standards of accreditation.

Private institutions of higher education are exempted from the
requirement that all lawful guidelines, policies, and procedures
established by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education
(board) be followed by higher education institutions.  In
addition, the board is prevented from restricting any approved
private institution from creating or modifying a course or
program, from adding a new location, or from receiving state or
federal student financial assistance.

Finally, the bill restricts the total amount of financial
assistance to the total of an applicant's anticipated
expenses.   The financial assistance so restricted includes
private and public scholarships, but does not include loans or
moneys received from work study.  The bill defines anticipated
expenses as tuition, mandatory fees, books, and room and board
while attending a public or private institution of higher
education.   Each approved public or private institution is
required to decrease the amount of an applicant's public
financial assistance so that it does not exceed the total
anticipated expenses.  Each approved public or private
institution is also required to conduct a self-audit of
compliance with these requirements, using a sampling method
approved by the board, and to provide the audit results to the
board.  The board is to establish standards for compliance and
to specify a maximum allowable cohort rate of noncompliance.
Institutions found not to be in compliance with these standards
are to ensure that the amount overpaid is refunded to the
institution; failure to do so results in the suspension of the
institution's "approved" status.