Georgia HOPE Scholarship Update

There are several bills in the Georgia Legislature which may change the Georgia HOPE Scholarships. HB 159 will place an maximum family income limit of $66,000 for eligibility. House Bill 326 is making it's way through the Georgia Legislature and includes many changes to the Georgia HOPE Scholarship eligibility requirements and awards amounts, which will be cut for the upcoming year. Books and fees won't be covered by the new HOPE.

Going forward, students graduating high school in 2015 and beyond will be required to take advanced courses in math, science, foreign languages or advanced placement in core courses to be eligible for the HOPE. 2015 grads will need two of these courses, 2016 grads need three and 2017 and beyond will need four.

The bill proposes a new Zell Miller Scholarship, which would cover the entire tuition cost for students who meet the eligibility requirements which include a 3.7 GPA and a minimum 1200 SAT score.

New Mexico extends Legislative Lottery Scholarships to include Tribal colleges.

House Bill 92 has passed in the House and has been sent on to the Senate which would allow the Legislative Lottery Scholarships to include students at tribal colleges. Included in the bill would be resident undergraduates attending the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development in Santa Fe, Navajo Technical College in Crownpoint and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque which have been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

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State Legislatures' College Scholarships Updates

In New Mexico, the House passed a bill which would allow students to take a year off before atending college and still be eligible to apply for the Legislative Lottery Scholarship. Curerntly students need to begin college in September of the year they graduate high school. The legislation would allow up to 16 months for students to begin college. The legislation (HB 62) is currently with the Senate Education Committee.

The Wyoming House passed a bill (HB 13) that would allow students to qualify for each of the four levels of scholarship in the Wyoming Hathaway Scholarship Program without taking any foreign language courses. However, the Senate has amended the bill for the top two levels of scholarship to require at least two years of a foreign language to qualify. The Senate passed an amendment which would also allow for exceptions and waivers for certain small school districts which may not have the funding to offer all the necessary courses.

In Indiana, under Senate Bill 0577, children of military veterans with less than 100% disability would no longer be guaranteed a 100% waiver of college education costs. Children of 100% disabled vets would still qualify for the 100% reduction, but those with 80% or less disability as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, would receive 20% plus the amount of the disability. So, if a veteran has a 50% disability, his child would be eligible for 20 + 50 = 70% reduction.


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