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A1780
ASSEMBLY, No. 1780
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
���� Makes supplemental appropriation of $3.5 million for
Community College Opportunity Grant-Adult Postsecondary Career and Technical
Education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
A
Supplement
to the annual appropriations act
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, P.L.2021, c.133.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and the General Assembly
of the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� In addition to the
amounts appropriated under P.L.2021, c.133, the annual appropriations act for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, there is appropriated from the General
Fund the following amount for the purpose specified:
74 DEPARTMENT OF STATE
30 Educational, Cultural, and
Intellectual Development
36 Higher Educational Services
2405 Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority
GRANTS-IN-AID
45-2405� Student Assistance
Programs .............................. $3,500,000
���������������� Total
Grants-in-Aid appropriation,���������������������������������������
������������������ Higher
Educational Services............................ $3,500,000
Grants-in-Aid:
�������� 45��� Community
College Opportunity Grant � Adult Postsecondary Career and Technical Education........................... ($3,500,000)
Notwithstanding any provision
of P.L.2021, c.26
(C.18A:71B-111 et seq.) or any other law, rule, or regulation to
the contrary, the amount hereinabove appropriated for Community College
Opportunity Grant � Adult Postsecondary Career and Technical Education is
appropriated for the purpose of providing financial aid grants to eligible
adult students enrolled in postsecondary career and technical education
programs offered by county vocational school districts for the Fall 2021 and
Spring 2022 semesters, to pay for the costs of tuition and approved educational
fees, including fees for nursing, culinary, and other career and technical
education programs that are not already covered by any other State, federal,
and institutional need-based grants or merit scholarships. �To be eligible to
receive a financial aid grant, a student shall: be an adult student, which is
defined as a postsecondary student who is enrolled in a postsecondary career
and technical education program that prepares the student to earn a license or
industry-recognized certification or to take a nationally-recognized exam; be a
legal resident of the State in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.18A:71B-2 or P.L.2018, c.12 (C.18A:71B-2.1), except for any requirement
under those provisions of law to be enrolled in an eligible institution of
higher education; be enrolled in a postsecondary career and technical education
program of at least four� months in length; be enrolled in a county vocational
school district that serves the student's county of residence or be enrolled in
an out-of-county vocational school district, in which case the student, if
otherwise eligible, shall receive a grant to cover the remaining costs of
tuition and approved educational fees, charged at the out-of-county rate of the
county vocational school district at which the student is enrolled; not have an
annual adjusted gross income that is negative; have an annual adjusted gross
income between $0 and $65,000; have applied for all other available forms of
State, federal, and institutional need-based grants and merit scholarships and,
in accordance with annually established deadline dates, have completed and
submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, other financial aid form,
or, as applicable, a State financial aid form as required by the authority
pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.2018, c.12 (C.18A:71B-2.1); not
owe a refund on a grant or scholarship previously received from a State or
federal program through any institution or be in default on any loan made under
any State or federal student loan program at any institution, unless the
student makes arrangements with the Higher Education Student Assistance
Authority to repay the debt; be in good academic standing and meet the minimum
standards for academic performance and satisfactory academic progress as
defined by the county vocational school district which the student is
attending; and be enrolled in between six and 18 credits hours, or the
recognized equivalent range or credits as determined by the Higher Education
Student Assistance Authority. In addition to the amount hereinabove
appropriated for Community College Opportunity Grant � Adult Postsecondary
Career and Technical Education, there are appropriated such amounts as are
required to cover the costs of increases in the number of applicants qualifying
for awards or to fund shifts in the distribution of awards that result in an
increase in total program costs, subject to the approval of the Director of the
Division of Budget and Accounting.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill provides a
supplemental appropriation of $3.5 million for Community College Opportunity
Grant � Adult Postsecondary Career and Technical Education.� The supplemental
appropriation is intended to provide last-dollar financial aid grants to adult
students enrolled in postsecondary career and technical education programs
offered by county vocational school districts.� Grants provided under the bill
would cover the remaining costs of eligible tuition and fees after the
application of all other State, federal, and institutional need-based grants or
merit scholarships.
���� Under the bill, an adult
student would be eligible for financial aid under the CCOG Program if the
student: is a legal resident of the State; is enrolled in a postsecondary
career and technical education program of at least four months in length
offered by a county vocational school district; is enrolled at the county
vocational school district that serves the student's county of residence or is
enrolled at an out-of-county vocational school district, in which case the
student, if otherwise eligible, would receive a grant under the program to
cover the remaining costs of tuition and approved educational fees, charged at
the in-district rate for the county vocational school district at which the
student is enrolled; does not have an annual adjusted gross income that is
negative; has an annual adjusted gross income between $0 and $65,000; has
applied for all other available forms of State, federal, and institutional
need-based grants and merit scholarships and submitted a financial aid form;
does not owe a refund on a grant or scholarship previously received from a
State or federal program through any institution or be in default on any loan
made under any State or federal student loan program at any institution, unless
the student makes arrangements with the Higher Education Student Assistance
Authority to repay the debt; and is in good academic standing and meets the
minimum standards for academic performance and satisfactory academic progress
as defined by county vocational school district which the student is attending.