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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5427
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 2036
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT EXPANDING THE DEBT-FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PROGRAM TO INCLUDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10a -174 of the 2026 supplement to the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective July 1, 2026): 3
(a) As used in this section: 4
(1) "Award" means the greater of: (A) The unpaid portion, if any, of a 5
qualifying student's eligible institutional costs after subtracting his or 6
her financial aid, or (B) a minimum award of five hundred dollars for a 7
full-time student or three hundred dollars for a part-time student; 8
(2) "Eligible institutional costs" means the tuition and required fees 9
incurred each semester by an individual student that are established by 10
the Board of Regents for Higher Education for the Connecticut State 11
Community College; 12
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(3) "Financial aid" means the sum of all scholarships, grants and 13
federal, state and institutional aid received by a qualifying student. 14
"Financial aid" does not include any federal, state or private student 15
loans received by a qualifying student; 16
(4) "Qualifying student" means any person who (A) graduated from 17
a public or nonpublic high school, (B) enrolls as a full-time or part-time 18
student at the Connecticut State Community College (i) for the fall 19
semester of 2020, or any semester thereafter, [at the Connecticut State 20
Community College] in a program leading to a degree or certificate , or 21
(ii) for the fall semester of 2026, or any semester thereafter, in a 22
workforce development or continuing education program , (C) is 23
classified as an in-state student pursuant to section 10a-29, (D) is making 24
satisfactory academic progress while enrolled at the Connecticut State 25
Community College, (E) has completed the Free Application for Federal 26
Student Aid, and (F) has accepted all available financial aid or is a 27
transition program student; 28
(5) "Full-time student" means a student who is enrolled at the 29
Connecticut State Community College and (A) is carrying twelve or 30
more credit hours in a semester, or (B) has a learning disability 31
documented with the Connecticut State Community College [in which 32
he or she is enrolled] and is enrolled in the maximum number of credit 33
hours that is feasible for such student to attempt in a semester, as 34
determined by such student's academic advisor; 35
(6) "Semester" means the fall or spring semester of an academic year. 36
"Semester" does not include a summer semester or session; 37
(7) "Part-time student" means a student who is enrolled at the 38
Connecticut State Community College and is carrying not less than six 39
but fewer than twelve credit hours in a semester; and 40
(8) "Transition program student" means any person who (A) is a 41
resident of this state, (B) has not graduated from high school, (C) is 42
enrolled in a transition program pursuant to such person's 43
individualized education program, and (D) enrolls in one or more 44
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courses at the Connecticut State Community College. 45
(b) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall (1) establish a 46
debt-free community college program to make awards to qualifying 47
students each semester, (2) adopt rules, procedures and forms necessary 48
to implement the debt-free community college program, and (3) submit 49
a report outlining such rules, procedures and forms, in accordance with 50
the provisions of section 11 -4a, to the joint standing committee of the 51
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 52
education. Awards made to qualifying students pursuant to the debt -53
free community college program shall be designated as the "Mary Ann 54
Handley Award". 55
(c) For the fall semester of 2020, and each semester thereafter, the 56
Board of Regents for Higher Education shall make awards to qualifying 57
students within available appropriations. An award shall be available 58
to a qualifying student for the first seventy -two credit hours earned by 59
the qualifying student , or for noncredit programs, for the first six 60
semesters the qualifying student enrolls in such programs at the 61
Connecticut State Community College, provided the qualifying student 62
meets and continues to meet the requirements of this section. The board 63
shall not use an award to supplant any financial aid, including, but not 64
limited to, state or institutional aid, otherwise available to a qualifying 65
student. 66
(d) Not later than November 1, 2024, and March 1, 2025, and each 67
semester thereafter, the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall 68
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11 -4a, to the joint 69
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 70
matters relating to higher education and employment advancement and 71
appropriations and the budgets of the state agencies regarding the debt-72
free community college program, including, but not limited to, (1) the 73
number of qualifying students enrolled at the Connecticut State 74
Community College during each semester, (2) the number of qualifying 75
students receiving minimum awards and the number of qualifying 76
students receiving awards for the unpaid portion of eligible institutional 77
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costs, (3) the average number of credit hours the qualifying students 78
enrolled in each semester and the average number of credit hours the 79
qualifying students completed each semester, (4) the average amount of 80
the award made to qualifying students under this section for the unpaid 81
portion of eligible institutional costs, and (5) the completion rates of 82
qualifying students receiving awards under this section by degree , [or] 83
certificate, workforce development program or continuing education 84
program. 85
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 10a-174
HED Joint Favorable C/R APP