Bill > A438

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the New Jersey School Counts County College Scholarship Program in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. Under the program, a student who graduates from a participating public or nonpublic high school located in this State who has satisfied certain attendance, punctuality, and academic criteria during high school will be eligible to receive a two-year scholarship to a county college. This scholarship program is modeled on an initiative developed by the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. That initiative provides students with a School Counts certificate which attests to the student's efforts and hard work during high school and which the student can present to potential employers as evidence of his diligence and accomplishments. The initiative recognizes those student who, although they may not be straight A students, have demonstrated a commitment and understanding of the importance of education. This initiative is currently operational in several counties. Under the bill, the authority will work in conjunction with the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence to encourage the participation of public and nonpublic high schools in the School Counts Scholarship Program. Each participating high school will award a School Counts certificate to a student who graduates from that high school and 1) achieves a 95% or greater rate of school attendance in each year of high school; 2) achieves a C grade point average or above in all academic courses in each year of high school; 3) completes more than the minimum number of credits required for graduation from high school; 4) completes high school in eight consecutive semesters or, in the case of a special education student, within the timelines established by the student's IEP; and 5) successfully competes Algebra I. A student who receives a School Counts certificate will be eligible for a two-year scholarship for full-time enrollment in a degree program at a county college in an annual amount not to exceed $2,000. The second year of the scholarship will be dependent upon the student making application to the authority and presenting evidence to the authority of satisfactory progress toward the award of an academic degree. Prior to receipt of a School Counts Scholarship, a student would have to have applied for all other available forms of State and federal grants and scholarships. The student must begin a course of study at a county college within six months of graduation from high school. The scholarship program will be financed through a combination of State appropriations, county college funds, and private contributions. A county college will be eligible to receive State funds on a per student basis when the college demonstrates that it has raised an equal amount of funds for the student's scholarship from private donations or other sources. In the first year of the scholarship program's operation, four county colleges will be selected for participation with not less than one college from the north, central, and southern regions of the State. In each subsequent year, three additional county colleges will be selected for participation until such time as all county colleges are eventually participating in the program.

Committee Categories

Joe Danielsen (D)*,  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*,  Michael Venezia (D)*,  Shama Haider (D),  Ellen Park (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document