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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 793
2025-2026
Representative Thomas, J.
To
enact section 3333.0421 of the Revised Code and to amend Section
381.400 of H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly
regarding
cost of attendance at institutions of higher education.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 3333.0421 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
3333.0421.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Institution of higher education" means either of the
following:
(a)
A private college, as defined in section 3365.01 of the Revised Code;
(b)
A state institution of higher education, as defined in section
3345.011 of the Revised Code.
(2)
"Ohio resident" means a resident of this state under rules
adopted under section 3333.31 of the Revised Code.
(B)
Annually, each institution of higher education shall report to the
chancellor, in a form and manner prescribed by the chancellor, the
cost of attendance for an Ohio resident who is enrolled as an
undergraduate student in the institution in that academic year.
(C)
Annually, the chancellor shall post both of the following on a web
page on the chancellor's public web site:
(1)
The definition of "cost of attendance" prescribed in 20
U.S.C. 1087ll;
(2)
Each cost of attendance reported by an institution of higher
education under this section.
Section
2.
That
Section 381.400 of H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly be amended
to read as follows:
Sec.
381.400.
GOVERNOR'S
MERIT SCHOLARSHIP
(A)
The foregoing appropriation item 235530, Governor's Merit
Scholarship, shall be used by the Chancellor of Higher Education to
administer the Governor's Merit Scholarship Program and to award
merit-based aid to qualifying institutions on behalf of eligible
students. Funds awarded under this section shall be used in a manner
consistent with the goal of allowing high-achieving high school
graduates to remain in Ohio to pursue their post-secondary studies
and contribute to Ohio's expanding economic opportunities.
(B)
In awarding funds under this section, and to the extent that funds
are sufficient to do so, the Chancellor shall provide per-student
awards of $5,000 per academic year to eligible students determined to
be in the top five per cent of their public or nonpublic high school
graduating class at the end of their junior year, as determined by
their public or nonpublic high school using criteria established by
the Chancellor in consultation with the Director of Education and
Workforce. School districts and nonpublic high schools shall provide
the information as requested by the Chancellor to determine
scholarship eligibility. Eligible students shall receive an award for
up to the equivalent of four academic years of instruction at a
qualifying institution, contingent on satisfactory academic progress.
(C)
The Chancellor, in consultation with the Director, shall determine
eligibility for graduating high school students who were home
schooled to provide a level of access to the program described in
this section that is reasonably commensurate with the merit-based
criteria used to determine eligibility for students graduating from a
public or nonpublic high school.
(D)
The Governor's Merit Scholarship shall be used to pay eligible
expenses, as determined by the Chancellor, included within the
published cost of attendance at a qualifying institution.
(E)
A qualifying institution shall not make changes to scholarship or
financial aid programs offered by that institution that have the goal
or net effect of shifting the cost burden of those programs to the
program described in this section. Institutions of higher education
that enroll students receiving merit-based financial aid grants under
this section shall maintain the same level of merit-based financial
aid the institution provided in the most recent academic year in the
aggregate to all students or on a per-student basis.
No
qualifying institution shall reduce the amount of institutional
financial aid it has offered to a student who receives a scholarship
under this section, unless the student's total financial aid exceeds
the institution's cost of attendance posted under section 3333.0421
of the Revised Code. In that case, the qualifying institution shall
reduce the student's institutional financial aid until the student's
total financial aid is equal to the cost of attendance.
(F)
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Chancellor
may establish guidelines for the purpose of implementing this
section, except that the Chancellor shall not place limits on the
number of students receiving an award under this section that enroll
at a qualifying institution.
(G)
As used in this section, "qualifying institution" means any
of the following:
(1)
A state institution of higher education, as defined in section
3345.011 of the Revised Code;
(2)
A private nonprofit institution of higher education holding a
certificate of authorization under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code.
Section
3.
That
existing Section 381.400 of H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly is
hereby repealed.