Section 1. Early Graduation. Reduces general education revenue attributable to a student who graduates early and participates in the early graduation achievement scholarship program.
Effective date. Makes this section effective July 1, 2011.
Section 2. Early Graduation Achievement Scholarship Program.
Subdivision 1. Participation. Allows a student who qualifies for early graduation under existing statutory authority to participate in the early graduation achievement scholarship program.
Subd. 2. Scholarship amounts. Sets the amounts that students are eligible for at $2,500 if the student qualifies for graduation one semester or two trimesters early, $5,000 if the student qualifies for graduation two semesters or three or four trimesters early, or $7,500 if the student qualifies for graduation three or more semesters or five or more trimesters early.
Subd. 3. Scholarship uses. Allows an early graduation achievement scholarship to be used at any accredited institution of higher education.
Subd. 4. Application. Allows a qualifying student to apply to the commissioner. Requires the commissioner to specify the application form. Requires the department to issue the student a certificate showing the student’s scholarship amount, upon verification of course completion.
Subd. 5. Enrollment verification. Requires a qualifying student who enrolls in an accredited higher education institution to submit verification of enrollment and tuition charges to the commissioner. Requires the commissioner to issue a scholarship check to the student in the lesser of the tuition amount for that semester or the maximum amount of the student’s early graduation achievement scholarship. Allows the student to repeat this process each semester until the full amount of the student’s graduation achievement scholarship is used.
Subd. 6. General education money transferred. Requires the commissioner to transfer the amounts necessary to fund the early graduation achievement scholarships from the general education aid appropriation for that year.
Effective date. Makes this section effective for fiscal years 2012 and later.
Section 3. Reallocating General Education Revenue for All-day Kindergarten and Prekindergarten. Excludes money attributable to the early graduation achievement scholarships from being reallocated from revenue generated by students who graduate early to optional all-day kindergarten programs.
Effective date. Makes this section effective for fiscal years 2012 and later.
Section 4. Annual General Education Aid Appropriation. Includes early graduation achievement scholarships in the general education aid appropriation
Effective date. Makes this section effective for fiscal years 2012 and later.
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