AMENDMENT FOR PRINTED BILL
1224cb
___________________ moved that HB 1224 be amended as follows:
On the printed bill, delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"
Section 1. That § 13-55-31 be amended to read as follows:
13-55-31. In order to be eligible for a South Dakota opportunity scholarship award, a student
shall:
(1) Be a resident of South Dakota at the time of graduation from high school;
(2) Have a composite score of 24, or higher, on the test administered by the American
College Testing Program or an equivalent score as determined by the Board of Regents
on the Scholastic Assessment Test. The student shall take the ACT or SAT test before
beginning postsecondary education;
(3) Meet the high school course requirements for graduation from the distinguished high
school program as provided in section 24:43:11:05 of the Administrative Rules of South
Dakota as in effect on January 1, 2008;
(4) Attend a university, college, or technical school that is accredited by the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools and that provides instruction from a campus located
in South Dakota; and
(5) Enter into the program within five years of graduation from high school or within one
year of the student's release from active duty with an active component of the armed
forces if the release is within five years of the student's graduation from high school. If
a student attends full-time a regionally accredited university, college, or technical school
located outside South Dakota and within two years following high school graduation or
within two years following release from active military service returns to the state to
attend full-time a regionally accredited university, college, or technical school, the student
is eligible to receive a partial award.
A student is eligible to participate in the South Dakota opportunity scholarship program for the
equivalent of four academic years (eight consecutive spring and fall terms) or until the attainment
of a baccalaureate degree, whichever comes first. However, the executive director of the Board of
Regents may grant exceptions to the continuous enrollment requirements for good cause shown.
A student who would have been eligible for the scholarship, but who applies after completing
one or more semesters of full-time work at an accredited institution, may be admitted to the program
only if the student has complied with the same grade point and credit hour requirements that would
apply to program participants. Admission granted under these circumstances may not be retroactive,
and
eligibility for participation in the program shall be reduced by one semester for each semester
of work completed prior to admission to the program the total scholarship award granted to any
student admitted under these circumstances may not exceed four thousand dollars.
Section 2. That § 13-55-33 be amended to read as follows:
13-55-33. One-half of the annual scholarship award shall be paid to public institutions on behalf
of eligible students there enrolled or directly to eligible students enrolled at nonpublic institutions
at the beginning of the fall semester and the other half shall be paid at the beginning of the spring
semester. The amount of the annual award shall be as follows:
(1) One thousand dollars for the first year of attendance;
(2) One thousand dollars for the second year of attendance;
(3) One thousand dollars for the third year of attendance;
(4) Two thousand dollars for the fourth year of attendance unless the student attended full-time a regionally accredited university, college, or technical school located outside South
Dakota prior to admission to the program, in which case the award shall be one thousand
dollars.
For any eligible student enrolled in a bachelor's degree program, the scholarship shall be awarded
as follows:
(1) One thousand dollars at the beginning of the second year of attendance;
(2) One thousand dollars at the beginning of the third year of attendance;
(3) Two thousand dollars at the beginning of the fourth year of attendance; and
(4) One thousand dollars at the beginning of the spring semester of the fourth year of
attendance.
For any eligible student enrolled in an associate degree program, the scholarship shall be awarded
as follows:
(1) One thousand dollars at the beginning of the second year of attendance; and
(2) One thousand dollars at the beginning of the second semester of the second year of
attendance.
However, no eligible student who completed one or more semesters of work at a college,
university, or technical school located outside of South Dakota before being admitted to the
scholarship program may receive the one thousand dollars awarded to other eligible students at the
beginning of the second year of attendance, and the payment awarded at the beginning of the fourth
year of attendance shall be reduced to one thousand dollars for any eligible student who, in prior
years, has already received a total of three thousand dollars through the scholarship program.
If, in any year, the total funds available to finance the scholarship awards are insufficient to
permit each eligible recipient to receive the full amount provided in this section, the available
moneys shall be prorated and distributed to each recipient in proportion to the entitlement
contemplated by this section. The total amount of the scholarship may not exceed five thousand
dollars, and the awards shall be paid to institutions on behalf of eligible students there enrolled . "