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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
community college opportunity grants; appropriations
Purpose
Establishes the Community College Opportunity Grant Fund (Fund) to administer opportunity grants for eligible students enrolled in Arizona tribal colleges and community colleges. Appropriates $5,000,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) in FYs 2025, 2026 and 2027 to the Fund for outlined purposes.
Background
Community colleges are educational institutions that are operated by a community college district board and that provide a program of not more than four years' training in the arts, sciences and humanities beyond the 12th grade of the public or private high school course of study or vocational education, including terminal courses of a technical and vocational nature and basic adult education courses (A.R.S. § 15-1401).
Diné College and Tohono O'odham Community College receive a portion of transaction privilege tax revenues to support the maintenance, renewal and capital expenses of existing community college campus facilities (A.R.S. § 42-5031.01). The FY 2023 actual distributions included $890,700 to the Navajo Nation and $330,200 for Tohono O'odham Community College (JLBC).
S.B. 1723 appropriates $5,000,000 from the state GF in FYs 2025, 2026 and 2027 to the Fund for a total of $15,000,000 appropriated from the state GF.
Provisions
1. Establishes the Fund, administered by the State Treasurer, and consisting of legislative appropriations.
2. Appropriates $5,000,000 from the state GF in FYs 2025, 2026 and 2027 to the Fund.
3. Requires, beginning August 1, 2024, each Arizona district board and tribal college to award opportunity grants to eligible students.
4. Requires the State Treasurer to distribute Fund monies to each Arizona tribal college and community college based on the cost of tuition and mandatory fees minus all other financial aid for students who are eligible for opportunity grants.
5. Determines that opportunity grants must be funded with monies distributed from the Fund.
6. Specifies that opportunity grant monies must be used to pay for tuition and approved educational fees for up to 18 credit hours at any tribal college or Arizona community college for one year.
7. Requires, to be eligible for an opportunity grant, a student to:
a) have graduated from any of the public or private high school options in Arizona or obtained a high school equivalency diploma;
b) complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
c) meet enrollment eligibility criteria and enroll at an Arizona tribal college or community college for at least 6 credit hours;
d) be a dependent student who reports on a FAFSA a parental federal adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less or be an independent student who reports on a FAFSA a family adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less; and
e) submit a high school or high school equivalency transcript that proves the student graduated with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
8. Allows a student, if high school records no longer exist for the student or every reasonable effort has been made to obtain official records and the records cannot be located, to submit:
a) a letter certified by the high school from which the student graduated which states the student's GPA; or
b) the student's original high school diploma, if the student's GPA is evidenced by the student's diploma.
9. Allows an eligible student who is enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours per semester to receive the maximum opportunity grant amount that is prorated from the full-time tuition grant amount based on the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled.
10. Requires, if in any fiscal year Fund monies are insufficient to pay tuition and approved educational fees for each eligible student for one year, Fund distributions to be prorated for the fiscal year.
11. Prohibits an opportunity grant amount from exceeding the cost of tuition and approved educational fees for up to 18 credit hours per semester at the tribal college or community college of attendance for one year minus all other financial aid, which must be credited first to the student's tuition and approved educational fees, including financial aid received from a Federal Pell Grant.
12. Requires tribal colleges and community college districts to cooperate and provide all necessary information to the State Treasurer for opportunity grant distributions to eligible students.
13. Defines approved educational fees as:
a) general fees;
b) registration fees;
c) facility fees;
d) technology fees;
e) student activity fees; and
f) lab fees or other program fees, including fees for coursework in nursing, culinary and other career and technical education programs.
14. Becomes effective on the general effective date, retroactive to August 1, 2024.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 12, 2024
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