AN ACT CONCERNING THE KIRKLYN M. KERR PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT.

House of Representatives
sHB5418 / File No. 665 1

General Assembly File No. 665
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5418

House of Representatives, April 16, 2026

The Committee on Appropriations reported through REP.
WALKER of the 93rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE KIRKLYN M. KERR PROGRAM AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 10a -19h of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2027): 2
(a) For the purposes of this section, "veterinary student" means an in-3
state resident enrolled in an accredited veterinary graduate school. 4
(b) The president of The University of Connecticut shall establish and 5
administer the Kirklyn M. Kerr program to support the veterinary 6
medicine education of not more than five veterinary students per 7
cohort. Each cohort may be funded for a four -year period pursuant to 8
the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. 9
(c) Any state resident may apply, in the form and manner prescribed 10
by The University of Connecticut, for a grant to attend a veterinary 11
graduate school under the Kirklyn M. Kerr program. The university 12
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shall award such grants within available appropriations. Each grant 13
recipient shall receive a grant for four years in the amount of the 14
difference between the cost of in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition at 15
the veterinary graduate school approved by the university under said 16
program. Such grant shall be issued in the form of a student loan that 17
shall (1) not be subject to repayment, and (2) be forgiven at a rate of 18
twenty per cent per annum over the course of five years, provided such 19
grant recipient, after graduating from veterinary school and completing 20
any subsequent professional training, is a state resident and practicing 21
veterinarian, licensed pursuant to chapter 384, working in the state. 22
Such student loan shall be subject to repayment for any remaining 23
balance of such student loan if a grant recipient ceases to be a state 24
resident or a practicing veterinarian in the state at any time during the 25
first five years after graduating from veterinary school and completing 26
any subsequent professional training. 27
(d) The University of Connecticut shall enter into a memorandum of 28
understanding with the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental 29
Loan Authority for the issuance of forgivable student loans pursuant to 30
the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. 31
Sec. 2. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) The Office of Higher Education 32
shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with The University 33
of Connecticut for the use of funds in the Kirklyn M. Kerr account, 34
established pursuant to section 3 of this act, to award grants to 35
veterinary students under the Kirklyn M. Kerr program established 36
pursuant to section 10a-19h of the general statutes, as amended by this 37
act. 38
Sec. 3. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) There is established an account 39
to be known as the "Kirklyn M. Kerr account", which shall be a separate, 40
nonlapsing account. The account shall contain any moneys required by 41
law to be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be 42
expended by the Office of Higher Education for the purposes of the 43
memorandum of understanding with The University of Connecticut 44
concerning the Kirklyn M. Kerr program, established pursuant to 45
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section 10a-19h of the general statutes, as amended by this act. 46
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2027 10a-19h
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2026 New section

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Section 1(c) was redrafted for clarity; and in Section 1(d), "establish" was
changed to " enter into " and in Section 2, "establish" was changed to
"enter into" for consistency with standard drafting conventions.

HED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP
APP Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill has no fiscal impact to the state. It: (1) establishes a forgivable
loan program for Connecticut students to attend an out -of-state
veterinary school via the Kirklyn M. Kerr program, involving the
Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority
(CHESLA) and UConn; and (2) establishes a nonlapsing account for the
forgivable loans to students participating in the program, involving
UConn and the Office of Higher Education. The bill does not specify a
funding source.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5418

AN ACT CONCERNING THE KIRKLYN M. KERR PROGRAM AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT.

SUMMARY
This bill makes various revisions to the Kirklyn M. Kerr Program ,
which supports veterinary medicine education, including:
1. requiring grants to be issued as student loans that do not need to
be paid back as long as recipients meet certain criteria, such as
practicing in the state following graduation for at least five years;
2. requiring UConn to enter memoranda of understanding (MOUs)
with the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan
Authority (CHESLA) and Office of Higher Education (OHE)
regarding the loans and funds under the program; and
3. establishing the “Kirklyn M. Kerr” account, a separate
nonlapsing account.
By law, UConn must administer the Kirklyn M. Kerr program to
support a cohort of in-state residents enrolled in an accredited (out-of-
state) veterinary graduate school (there are no veterinary schools in
Connecticut). Each cohort must consist of five or fewer students and can
be funded for a four -year period . In practice, the program has been
dormant in recent years.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2027, except the provisions regarding the
UConn-OHE MOU and the Kirklyn M. Kerr account are effective July 1,
2026.
KIRKLYN M. KERR PROGRAM
The bill allows for state residents to apply for a grant under the
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Kirklyn M. Kerr program as determined by UConn, and UConn must
award grants within available appropriations.
Under the bill, each recipient must receive a four-year grant equal to
the difference between the cost of in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition
at a UConn -approved veterinary school. Grants are issued as student
loans that do not need to be repaid as l ong as after graduation and
completion of any subsequent professional training, the grant recipient
is a state resident and works as a practicing veterinarian in the state for
at least five years, during which period 20% of the original loan amount
is forgiven in each of these five years.
MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING AND KIRKLYN M. KERR
ACCOUNT
The bill requires UConn to enter a n MOU with CHESLA to issue
forgivable student loans under this program.
The bill also establishes the “Kirklyn M. Kerr” account, a separate and
nonlapsing account. The account’s funds must be spent by OHE for the
purposes outlined in a MOU that OHE is required to enter with UConn
on the awarding of grants under the program.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference - APP
Yea 18 Nay 0 (03/12/2026)

Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 51 Nay 0 (04/01/2026)