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A1100
ASSEMBLY, No. 1100
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblyman MICHAEL VENEZIA
District 34 (Essex)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Haider and Park
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes New Jersey School Counts County College
Scholarship Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
establishing the New Jersey School Counts County College Scholarship Program
and supplementing chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
����
Be It Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the "New Jersey School Counts County College
Scholarship Program Act."
���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that: a well-trained and educated population is vital to New
Jersey's efforts to attract and retain highly skilled businesses and to ensure
the State's continued economic well-being;� it is important for young people in
the State to know that there is a correlation between working hard in high
school and succeeding in postsecondary education, and finding and keeping a
job; and the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence at the New Jersey
Chamber of Commerce has established a successful recognition program for high
school students known as School Counts that recognizes students for their
attendance and academic efforts in high school and provides certification of
these efforts to employers and postsecondary education institutions.
���� The Legislature further finds
therefore that it is sound public policy� to establish a Statewide program that
supports and rewards hard-working, conscientious, and responsible students for
their efforts in pursuing and completing their secondary education through the
establishment of a county college scholarship program for such students, and to
encourage all county colleges to participate in the program.
���� 3.��� As used in this act:
���� "Authority" means
the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority established pursuant to
N.J.S.18A:71A-3;
���� "County college"
means a public two-year institution of higher education established pursuant to
the provisions of chapter 64A of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes;
���� "Scholarship" means
a scholarship awarded under the New Jersey School Counts County College
Scholarship Program.
���� 4.��� There is established
within the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority the New Jersey School
Counts
County College Scholarship Program.� Under the program, a student
who graduates from a public or nonpublic high school located in this State who
has satisfied the attendance, punctuality, and academic criteria established�
pursuant to section 7 of this act shall be eligible to receive a two-year
scholarship to a county college.
���� 5.��� a.� Within the limit of
available appropriations, a scholarship of up to $2,000 per year shall be
awarded to an eligible student enrolled on a full-time basis in a degree
program at a county college.� The maximum scholarship amount shall not exceed
$4,000 over a two-year period.
���� b.��� A scholarship shall
cover the full cost of attendance which shall include tuition, books, and other
necessary fees and expenses related to the course of study. In no academic year
shall a program participant be eligible for a scholarship under the program
greater than the total cost of attendance, less the total value of all other
scholarships and grants received by the participant for that academic year.
���� c.���� A student shall be
eligible for a scholarship for no more than two academic years.
���� 6.��� To be eligible to
receive a scholarship, an applicant shall meet the following requirements:
���� a.���� be a resident of the
State pursuant to guidelines established by the authority;
���� b.��� apply to participate in
the New Jersey School Counts County College Scholarship Program at the
beginning of the freshman year of high school;
���� c.���� have been awarded a
School Counts certificate by the high school of attendance pursuant to section
7 of this act;
���� d.��� have applied for all
other available forms of State and federal financial aid, exclusive of loans;
���� e.���� be enrolled for minimum
of 24 credit hours per year at a county college, not including credit hours in
a remedial curriculum; and
���� f.���� commence a course of
study at a county college not more than six months after graduation from high
school.
���� 7.��� The authority shall
work, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Education and the Business
Coalition for Educational Excellence of the New Jersey Chamber of� Commerce, to
encourage the participation of public and nonpublic high schools in the School
Counts Scholarship Program. Each� participating high school shall award a
School Counts certificate to a student who graduates from the high school who
meets the following requirements:
���� a.���� achieves a 95% or
greater rate of school attendance and punctuality in each year of high school;
���� b.��� achieves a C grade point
average or above in all academic courses in each year of high school;
���� c.���� completes more than the
minimum number of� credits required for graduation from high school;
���� d.��� completes high school in
eight consecutive semesters or, in the case of a special education student,
within the timelines established by the student's Individualized Education
Program (IEP); and
���� e.���� successfully completes
Algebra I.
���� 8.��� A student who meets the
eligibility criteria pursuant to section 6 of this act and who receives a
School Counts certificate pursuant to section 7 of this act shall receive a
School Counts Scholarship for the first year of enrollment in a county
college.� A student may receive a scholarship for the second year of enrollment
in a county college upon filing a renewal application with the authority and
providing evidence as required by the authority that the student has made
satisfactory academic progress toward the award of an academic degree.
���� 9.��� The scholarship program
shall be financed through a combination of State appropriations, county college
funds, and private contributions.� A county college shall be eligible to
receive State matching funds on a per student basis when it provides evidence
to the authority that it has raised an equal amount of funds for the student's
scholarship from private donations or other sources.� A maximum of $500,000 in
State funds shall be provided to each participating county college.
���� 10.� In the first year of the
operation of the scholarship program, the authority shall select four county
colleges to participate in the program, with not less than one county college
from the north, central, and southern regions of the State.� In each subsequent
year of the operation of the scholarship program, three additional county
colleges shall be selected until each county college is participating in the
program.� The authority shall collaborate with the New Jersey Chamber of
Commerce, the Secretary of Higher Education, and the New Jersey Council of
County Colleges in the selection of the participating county colleges.
���� 11.� a.� A scholarship
recipient who is dismissed from the county college for academic or disciplinary
reasons shall be ineligible for a scholarship and the student shall repay to
the authority in full the amount of any scholarship received.
���� b.��� A student who fails to
make repayment to the authority� pursuant to subsection a. of this section who
is the holder of any professional or occupational license issued by a State
licensing board shall be subject to disciplinary action by that board which may
include, but need not be limited to, the revocation or suspension of the
license until such time as repayment is made to the authority.
���� c.���� A� scholarship
recipient who withdraws from a county college due to the student's illness or
the illness of a member of the student's immediate family or due to a family
emergency shall not be required to repay to the authority the amount of any
scholarship received and shall not be ineligible for subsequent receipt of a
scholarship.
���� 12.� The Higher Education
Student Assistance Authority shall adopt in accordance with the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.),
rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this
act.
���� 13.� This act shall take
effect for the 2016-2017 academic year; however, the authority may immediately
take such administrative action as may be necessary to implement the provisions
of this act.
STATEMENT
���� 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.