Amendment #356 to H3800

Finish Line Grant

Representatives Higgins of Leominster and Garballey of Arlington move to amend the bill by adding the following section:

"SECTION  XXXX.  An Act establishing the Finish Line Grant.

Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 16, the following new section:-

Section 16A. There shall be a Finish Line Grant Program to provide scholarships to cover the entire cost of tuition and fees for one year other than the first, in a program leading to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree at a Massachusetts public college or university. The scholarships will be available to residents of the Commonwealth in need of financial assistance whose family income is less than one hundred seventy five percent of median family income in Massachusetts.

The Department of Higher Education shall establish guidelines governing said program, which shall include but not be limited to eligibility requirements, selection criteria (such as acceptable grades and an academic plan for timely degree completion), and other guidelines designed to help meet the department’s goals, such as increasing overall student success and graduation rates, and lowering achievement gaps for high-risk students; provided, further, that no funds from this scholarship program may be used to pay the tuition or fees for any course or program offered or administered by a non-public entity and that no student shall be eligible to receive a scholarship from this program more than one time.

The funds for the program are meant to supplement and not supplant existing scholarship funds; funds for this program shall not be derived from existing financial aid programs the Commonwealth administers.

The department shall provide the Joint Committee on Higher Education of the General Court a report analyzing the usage, achievements and costs of this program, together with recommendations for its future, no later than 120 days following the program’s first year of operation.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #356 to H3800

Finish Line Grant