(a)There is hereby established the Kansas promise scholarship program. The state board of regents shall implement and administer the program.
(b)On or before March 1, 2023, the state board of regents shall adopt rules and regulations to implement and administer the Kansas promise scholarship program. Such rules and regulations shall establish:
(1)A scholarship application process, including, but not limited to, accepting scholarship applications throughout the academic year and processing such applications in the order such applications were received;
(2)appeal procedures for denial or revocation of a Kansas promise scholarship;
(3)guidelines to ensure as much as is practicable that, if a student who received a Kansas promise scholarship graduates from a p romise eligible program and
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(a) There is hereby established the Kansas promise scholarship program. The state board of regents shall implement and administer the program.
(b) On or before March 1, 2023, the state board of regents shall adopt rules and regulations to implement and administer the Kansas promise scholarship program. Such rules and regulations shall establish:
(1) A scholarship application process, including, but not limited to, accepting scholarship applications throughout the academic year and processing such applications in the order such applications were received;
(2) appeal procedures for denial or revocation of a Kansas promise scholarship;
(3) guidelines to ensure as much as is practicable that, if a student who received a Kansas promise scholarship graduates from a p romise eligible program and subsequently enrolls in a state educational institution, as defined in K.S.A. 76-711, and amendments thereto, or municipal university, any courses taken by such student shall be transferred to the state educational institution or municipal university and qualify toward the student's baccalaureate degree;
(4) the terms, conditions and requirements that shall be incorporated into each Kansas promise scholarship agreement, which shall not be more stringent than the requirements for Kansas promise scholarship agreements provided in this act;
(5) procedures for requesting and approving medical, military and personal absences from an eligible postsecondary educational institution while receiving a Kansas promise scholarship;
(6) criteria for determining whether a student who received a Kansas promise scholarship fulfilled the residency, employment and repayment requirements included in a Kansas promise scholarship agreement as provided in K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-32,276, and amendments thereto;
(7) criteria for determining when a student who received a Kansas promise scholarship may be released from the requirements of a Kansas promise scholarship, if there are special circumstances that caused such student to be unable to complete such requirements; and
(8) that no eligible postsecondary educational institution may:
(A) Limit scholarship awards to certain promise eligible programs at such institution; or
(B) award less than the full Kansas promise scholarship amount for which a student qualifies as long as funds are available in the Kansas promise scholarship program fund.
(c) The state board of regents shall:
(1) Identify the promise eligible programs offered by each eligible postsecondary educational institution that are:
(A) Within a field of study designated by the eligible postsecondary educational institution pursuant to K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-32,273, and amendments thereto; and
(B) in any of the following fields of study:
(i) Information technology and security;
(ii) mental and physical healthcare;
(iii) advanced manufacturing and building trades; or
(iv) early childhood education and development, elementary education and secondary education;
(2) w ork with community partners, such as community foundations, school districts, postsecondary educational institutions, Kansas business and industry and Kansas economic development organizations to publicize Kansas promise scholarships, including, but not limited to, publicizing eligible postsecondary educational institutions, approved scholarship-eligible educational programs, application procedures and application deadlines;
(3) disburse funds to each eligible postsecondary educational institution for the purpose of awarding Kansas promise scholarships;
(4) request information from eligible postsecondary educational institutions and any state agency necessary for the administration of this act;
(5) accept electronic signatures as sufficient and valid on all forms and agreements required by the Kansas promise scholarship program and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder;
(6) enforce Kansas promise scholarship agreements;
(7) collect any moneys repaid by students pursuant to K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-32,276, and amendments thereto;
(8) determine whether students who received a Kansas promise scholarship fulfill the residency, employment and repayment requirements provided in K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-32,276, and amendments thereto; and
(9) annually evaluate the Kansas promise scholarship program and prepare and submit a report to the senate standing committee on education and the house of representatives standing committee on education. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the total program cost for each promise eligible program at each eligible postsecondary educational institution, the amount of scholarship moneys awarded that went to each promise eligible program, the number of credit hours paid for with scholarship moneys, the amount of scholarship moneys expected to be awarded to each institution for each semester, the number of scholarships awarded, the total amount of scholarship moneys awarded, the amount of scholarship moneys provided for tuition, fees, books and supplies, measures postsecondary educational institutions have taken in working with private business and industry in the state to determine appropriate fields of study and a review of the employment of scholarship recipients who have completed the Kansas promise scholarship program, including, but not limited to, employment fields and geographic location of such employment.
(d) (1) The state board of regents may designate an associate degree transfer program as an eligible program only if such program is included in:
(A) An established 2+2 agreement with a Kansas four-year postsecondary educational institution; or
(B) an articulation agreement with a Kansas four-year postsecondary educational institution and is part of an established degree pathway that allows a student to transfer at least 60 credit hours from the eligible postsecondary educational institution to a four-year postsecondary educational institution for the completion of an additional 60 credit hours toward a bachelor's degree.
(2) The provisions of this subsection shall be construed and applied retroactively to the enactment of the Kansas promise scholarship program on July 1, 2021.
(e) (1) The state board of regents may remove a promise eligible program from the list of approved promise eligible programs only in accordance with this subsection. If the state board of regents proposes to remove a promise eligible program from such list, the state board of regents shall notify all eligible postsecondary educational institutions of the proposal to remove such program by May 1 of the calendar year that precedes the calendar year in which such program would officially be removed from such list. Within 30 calendar days of receipt, each eligible postsecondary educational institution may appeal such proposed removal to the state board of regents. Following such appeal period, within 45 calendar days, the state board of regents shall consider any such appeal and issue a final decision upon whether the program shall be removed. If the state board of regents issues a final decision to remove such program, the program shall be removed from the list of approved promise eligible programs only after not less than 14 months have elapsed from the date that the state board of regents issued the final decision to remove such program.
(2) The provisions of this subsection shall apply to any program that has been approved by the state board of regents as a promise eligible program on or after July 1, 2021.