A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new chapter to title 15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the creation of the army forces reserve component scholarship program.
Summary
SB 2170 would create a new Army Forces Reserve Component Scholarship Program in Title 15 of the North Dakota Century Code. The program would be administered by the State Board of Higher Education and would provide tuition scholarships to eligible members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Space Force reserve components who are North Dakota residents in the state, enrolled full-time at an eligible institution, do not already hold a bachelor’s degree, and have not previously received certain state military scholarship assistance. The bill also excludes individuals discharged under other than honorable conditions and limits recipients to 48 eligibility units, with eligibility units tied to academic term credit loads.
The scholarship would generally cover 100% of tuition at institutions under the state board’s control, and at other eligible institutions would cover the lesser of full tuition or the average tuition charged by state-controlled institutions. The board could require applicants to pursue federal education benefits first, and other financial aid would be applied before state scholarship funds. The bill also includes protections for recipients called to active duty, requiring institutions to grant leave without academic penalty and establishing rules for how scholarship payments and eligibility units are handled if a student is mobilized during a term.
Impact
If enacted, SB 2170 would add a new state scholarship program specifically for reserve-component service members and would expand the State Board of Higher Education’s duties to administer applications, determine eligibility, and adopt implementing rules. It would affect public and private higher education institutions in North Dakota by requiring them to coordinate tuition billing, leave-of-absence protections, and repayment or continuation procedures when a scholarship recipient is called to active duty. The bill would also interact with existing state military aid chapters and federal education assistance programs by making this scholarship supplemental to other aid.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been framed as a support measure for military reservists and their education, with no committee transcript available to show detailed debate. However, it failed decisively on Senate second reading by a vote of 6 yeas to 41 nays, indicating limited support in the chamber despite its targeted assistance to service members. The vote suggests that, while the policy may have been viewed favorably by a small group, it did not gain broad legislative backing.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are likely fiscal cost, the scope of state-funded tuition support, and whether the program duplicates or should instead rely on federal military education benefits. The bill’s requirement that scholarships be provided regardless of financial need, and its mandate for full tuition coverage in some cases, could raise budget concerns. Another possible issue is eligibility design: the bill limits aid to reserve-component members without a bachelor’s degree and excludes those with certain discharge statuses, which may have been seen as either appropriate targeting or too restrictive depending on the legislator.
A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new chapter to title 15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the creation of the army forces reserve component scholarship program.
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Requires public institutions of higher education to provide student-athletes who lose athletic scholarships because of injuries sustained while participating in athletic program with equivalent scholarships.
AN ACT relating to the use of Hathaway scholarships at private post secondary institutions; defining terms; creating a scholarship; establishing eligibility requirements; establishing payment of scholarship funds to private post secondary institutions; specifying success curriculum requirements; modifying the duties of the department of education; providing a sunset date; requiring rulemaking; requiring reporting; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.