CHAPTER 118
HOUSE BILL No. 2642
An Act concerning financial assistance for higher education;
relating to the teacher service
scholarship program and the Kansas national guard educational
assistance program;
amending K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 48-276, 48-277, 48-278, 48-279 and
74-32,102 and re-
pealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 48-276
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 48-276. As used in the Kansas national guard educational
assis-
tance act:
(a) ``Kansas educational institution''
means and includes area voca-
tional schools, area vocational-technical schools, community
colleges, the
municipal university, state educational institutions, technical
colleges, and
accredited independent institutions.
(b) ``Eligible guard member'' means a
newly enlisted or reenlisted
member of the Kansas national guard who is a resident of Kansas,
who
has been a member of the Kansas national guard for
with not more than
15 years, who has had military service prior to membership
in the national
guard or has completed basic military training,
of service and who is en-
rolled at a Kansas educational institution. The term eligible guard
mem-
ber does not include within its meaning any member of the Kansas
na-
tional guard who is the holder of a baccalaureate or higher
academic
degree, who does not hold a high school diploma or general
educational
development (GED) credentials, or who is entitled to federal
educational
benefits earned by membership in the Kansas national guard, except
fi-
nancial assistance under the federal education assistance program
(FEAP)
for members of the selected reserve.
(c) ``Kansas national guard educational
assistance program'' or ``pro-
gram'' means the program established pursuant to the provisions of
the
Kansas national guard educational assistance act.
(d) ``Educational program'' means a
program which is offered and
maintained by a Kansas educational institution and leads to the
award of
a certificate, diploma or degree upon satisfactory completion of
course-
work requirements.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 48-277 is
hereby amended to read as fol-
lows: 48-277. The adjutant general state board
of regents shall adopt rules
and regulations for administration of the Kansas national guard
educa-
tional assistance act and shall:
(a) Establish a mechanism to ensure
distribution of funds for tuition
and fee reimbursement throughout the Kansas national guard
organiza-
tion to Kansas educational
institutions;
(b) enter into a cooperative relationship
with the state board of re-
gents and the state department of education
adjutant general to ensure
efficient operation of the program;
(c) develop and effectuate a system of
accountability for all disburse-
ments under the program and provide written reports as prescribed;
and
(d) establish
coordinate with the adjutant general a procedure to en-
sure initial and on-going eligibility of all guard members who are
program
participants.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 48-278 is
hereby amended to read as fol-
lows: 48-278. (a) Subject to the availability of appropriations for
the Kan-
sas national guard educational assistance program and within the
limits
of any such appropriations, every eligible guard member who is
enrolled
at a Kansas educational institution and who is participating in the
program
shall be paid the amount of tuition and required fees charged by
the
Kansas educational institution for enrollment in courses necessary
to sat-
isfy the requirements of an educational program.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (a), eligible guard
members shall not be paid the amount of tuition and required
fees
charged for any course repeated or taken in excess of the
requirements
for completion of the educational program in which the eligible
guard
member is enrolled. The amount of tuition and required fees paid
an
eligible guard member pursuant to subsection (a) shall be at a rate
not to
exceed the maximum rate that would be charged by the state
educational
institutions for enrollment of the eligible guard member.
(c) Amounts of assistance for which an
eligible guard member is eli-
gible to receive under this act shall be offset by the aggregate
amount of
federal financial assistance received by such guard member, as a
result of
active national guard membership, to pay costs of tuition and
fees for
enrollment at Kansas educational institutions.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 48-279 is
hereby amended to read as fol-
lows: 48-279. (a) In order to qualify for participation in the
Kansas na-
tional guard educational assistance program, an eligible guard
member
must agree in writing to continue service in the Kansas
national guard for
a period of not less than four years after receiving a
final payment under
this act complete such member's current service
obligation in the Kansas
national guard, plus three months service for each semester, or
part
thereof, of assistance received.
(b) In order to remain eligible for
participation in the program, an
eligible guard member must remain in good standing at the Kansas
ed-
ucational institution where enrolled, make satisfactory progress
toward
completion of the requirements of the educational program in which
en-
rolled, and maintain satisfactory participation in the Kansas
national
guard. It shall be the responsibility of the eligible guard member
to obtain
a certificate from the member's commanding officer attesting to
the
member's satisfactory participation in the Kansas national guard
and to
present the certificate to the adjutant general, or a
designee thereof ed-
ucational institution, in order to obtain a payment under
this act. The
certificate shall be presented at the time payment is requested for
com-
pleted courses.
(c) Upon failure of any person, who as an
eligible guard member
received payments under the Kansas national guard educational
assis-
tance act, to satisfy the agreement to continue service in the
Kansas na-
tional guard for the required four-year period
as provided by subsection
(a), such person shall pay to the state of Kansas an amount
equal to the
total amount received. All amounts paid to the state under this
subsection
shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the
state general
Kansas national guard educational assistance program
repayment fund
created by section 5, and amendments thereto.
New Sec. 5. There is hereby created
in the state treasury the Kansas
national guard educational assistance program repayment fund. The
state
board of regents shall remit all moneys received under K.S.A. 2001
Supp.
48-279, and amendments thereto, to the state treasurer at least
monthly.
Upon receipt of each such remittance the state treasurer shall
deposit the
entire amount thereof in the state treasury, and such amount shall
be
credited to the Kansas national guard educational assistance
program re-
payment fund. All expenditures from the Kansas national guard
educa-
tional assistance program repayment fund shall be for payments of
assis-
tance under the Kansas national guard educational assistance act,
and
shall be made in accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants
of the
director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers
approved
by the executive officer of the state board of regents or a person
desig-
nated by the executive officer.
Sec. 6. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 74-32,102
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 74-32,102. (a) There is hereby established the teacher
service
scholarship program. A scholarship may be awarded under the
teacher
service scholarship program to any qualified student and may be
renewed
for each such student who remains qualified for the scholarship.
The
number of new scholarships awarded under the program in
each year
shall not exceed 50. Determination of the students
qualified for such
scholarships shall be made by the executive officer. Scholastic
ability shall
be determined on the basis of any one or more of the following: (1)
High
ACT or SAT score; (2) rank in high school graduation class; (3)
cumulative
high school or college grade point average; or (4) any other
indicator of
scholastic ability which the state board of regents determines to
be de-
monstrative of potential for successful completion of a course of
instruc-
tion leading to certification as a teacher. To the extent
practicable and
consistent with qualification factors, consideration shall be given
to stu-
dents who are members of ethnic minority groups.
(b) A scholarship awarded under the
program shall provide for pay-
ment to a qualified student of (1) an amount not to exceed 70% of
the
cost of attendance for an academic year at the teacher education
school
in which the qualified student is enrolled if such teacher
education school
is maintained by a state educational institution or (2) an amount
not to
exceed 70% of the average amount of the cost of attendance for an
aca-
demic year at the teacher education schools maintained by the state
ed-
ucational institutions if the teacher education school in which the
quali-
fied student is enrolled is not a state educational institution. A
qualified
student may be awarded a scholarship for not more than four
academic
years of undergraduate study, except that a qualified student who
is en-
rolled full time in a course of instruction leading to
certification in a
teaching discipline for which graduate study is required may be
awarded
a scholarship for the duration of the course of instruction.
Sec. 7. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 48-276, 48-277, 48-278,
48-279 and 74-
32,102 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 8. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved May 16, 2002.
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