A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that tuition grants be provided to State residents who graduate from the north carolina school of Science and mathematics and enroll full‑time at a constituent institution of the university of north carolina for up to four academic years.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 5. Tuition Grant for Graduates of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
"§ 116‑209.80.  Tuition grants for graduates to attend a constituent institution of higher education.
(a)	Within the funds available, a State resident who graduates from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) in each school year, beginning with the 2019‑2020 school year, and who enrolls as a full‑time student in a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina in the next academic year after graduation shall be eligible for a tuition grant awarded under this Part. Students who receive initial tuition grants as a cohort of a graduating class of NCSSM shall also be eligible to apply for tuition grants for subsequent academic years for up to a total of four academic years. The student shall be required to submit a letter of intent to the Authority that the student will remain a resident of North Carolina for at least four years following graduation from the constituent institution for which the student received tuition grants.
(b)	A student shall be continuously enrolled in an eligible institution of higher education after the award of the initial tuition grant to be eligible for tuition grants in subsequent academic years. The Authority shall have the discretion to waive this requirement if the student is able to demonstrate that any of the following have substantially disrupted or interrupted the student's pursuit of a degree: (i) a military service obligation, (ii) serious medical debilitation, (iii) a short‑term or long‑term disability, or (iv) other extraordinary hardship. The amount of the tuition grant to each graduate shall be determined and distributed as provided in G.S. 116‑209.81.
"§ 116‑209.81.  Administration of tuition grants.
(a)	The Authority shall administer the tuition grants provided for in this Part pursuant to guidelines and procedures established by the Authority consistent with its practices for administering State‑funded financial aid. The guidelines and procedures shall include an application process and schedule, notification and disbursement procedures, standards for reporting, and standards for return of tuition grants when a student withdraws. The Authority shall not approve any grant until it receives proper certification from the appropriate constituent institution that the student applying for the grant is an eligible student. Upon receipt of the certification, the Authority shall remit, at the times it prescribes, the tuition grant to the constituent institution on behalf, and to the credit, of the student. In the event a student on whose behalf a tuition grant has been paid is not enrolled and carrying a minimum academic load as of the tenth classroom day following the beginning of the school term for which the tuition grant was paid, the constituent institution shall refund the full amount of the tuition grant to the Authority.
(b)	Except as otherwise provided in this section, the amount of the grant awarded to a student shall cover the tuition cost at the constituent institution in which the student is enrolled. No tuition grant awarded to a student under this section shall exceed the cost of attendance at a constituent institution for which the student is enrolled.
(c)	If a student, who is eligible for a tuition grant under this section, also receives a scholarship or other grant covering the cost of attendance at the constituent institution for which the tuition grant is awarded, then the amount of the tuition grant shall be reduced by an appropriate amount determined by the Authority so that the total amount of scholarships and grants received by the student does not exceed the cost of attendance for the institution. The cost of attendance shall be determined by the Authority for each constituent institution.
(d)	In the event there are not sufficient funds to provide each eligible student with a full grant as provided by this Part, each eligible student shall receive a pro rata share of funds available for the academic year covered by the appropriation in the preceding fiscal year.
"§ 116‑209.82.  Tuition grant recipient to report on academic progress; NCSSM report.
The recipient of a tuition grant under this Part and the school administrators of NCSSM shall report to the board of county commissioners and the members of the House of Representatives and the members of the Senate whose districts include the county of the student's permanent residence that the student has accepted a tuition grant to attend a constituent institution in accordance with this Part. The recipient shall submit a report each semester to the members of the House of Representatives and the members of the Senate whose districts include the county of the student's permanent residence on the student's academic progress, activities, and projects. NCSSM shall submit a written report by April 1 of each year to the General Assembly in accordance with G.S. 120‑29.5 on the number of students accepting tuition grants and attending constituent institutions and aggregate data on student outcomes and activities. The report shall not include personally identifiable student data.
"§ 116‑209.83.  North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve.
The North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve shall be established as a reserve to be administered by the Authority. All funds appropriated to or otherwise received by the Authority to provide tuition grants under this Part, all returned tuition grant monies, and all interest earned on these funds shall be placed in the Fund. The Fund shall be used for (i) tuition grants for the academic year that begins in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the appropriation is made to the Reserve and (ii) the administrative costs of the Authority, provided that no more than five percent (5%) of the funds appropriated each fiscal year for tuition grants is expended for administrative purposes."
SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, students who are State residents who graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics at the end of the 2018‑2019 school year and were awarded a tuition grant for the 2019‑2020 academic year in accordance with Section 10A.5 of S.L. 2018‑5 shall be included in the award of tuition grants under G.S. 116‑209.81, as enacted by this act, beginning with the 2020‑2021 academic year.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve established pursuant to G.S. 116‑209.83, as enacted by this act, the sum of (i) two million two hundred thousand dollars ($2,200,000) in recurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year and (ii) two million two hundred thousand dollars ($2,200,000) in additional recurring funds for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year for the purpose of awarding tuition grants in accordance with this act.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019, and applies beginning with the award of tuition grants for the 2020‑2021 academic year.