AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE STATE INSPIRE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Delaware State Inspire Scholarship Program Expansion

This act changes the Delaware State Inspire Scholarship Program to allow students who finish their undergraduate degree early to use leftover scholarship money for graduate studies at Delaware State University.

What This Bill Does

• Allows students who complete an undergraduate degree in less than 8 continuous semesters to use remaining scholarship funds for a graduate program at DSU.
• Extends eligibility for foster care alumni to use any unused Inspire scholarship funds towards a graduate degree if they finish their bachelor's degree early.
• Modifies the requirements so that part-time enrollment is allowed and continuous enrollment is not required for students using the scholarship for a graduate degree.

Who It Names or Affects

• Students who complete their undergraduate degrees at DSU in less than 8 semesters
• Individuals from foster care who finish their undergraduate studies early

Terms To Know

Inspire Scholarship Program

A program that pays for up to 8 semesters of undergraduate tuition at Delaware State University.

Continuous Enrollment

The requirement to be enrolled in classes without breaks, which is no longer required for graduate studies under this act.

Limits and Unknowns

• Technical corrections are made but their specific details are not provided.

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE STATE INSPIRE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
The Delaware State Inspire Scholarship Program (Inspire scholarship) pays undergraduate tuition for 8 semesters at Delaware State University (DSU). Some students complete their undergraduate degrees in less than 8 semesters because they take heavier than average course loads each semester or because they earned college credits during high school. This Act aims to reward students for their hard work and provide additional access and opportunity for them to continue their higher education by allowing students to use the Inspire scholarship program towards additional levels of higher education if the student obtains their undergraduate degree before using all 8 semesters of eligibility.

Specifically, this Act extends eligibility for Inspire scholarships as follows:
1. Under current law, most students may use Inspire grant money for up to 8 continuous semesters towards a bachelor's degree at DSU. This Act allows students who complete a bachelor's degree in less than 8 continuous semesters to use the remaining Inspire grant money towards a graduate degree program at DSU.
2. The Inspire scholarship program provides additional time for individuals who lived in foster care to complete an undergraduate degree. This Act makes corresponding changes to the eligibility for these individuals so that they also can use remaining Inspire grant money towards a graduate degree at DSU if they complete their undergraduate degree before exhausting the time available to do so.

In addition, this Act modifies 2 requirements for eligibility for the Inspire scholarship program for students using the scholarship for a graduate degree program so that students may be enrolled on a part-time basis and are not required to maintain continuous enrollment.

This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.