Bills Affecting Lottery Scholarship, Consolidation Moving Forward

The Senate Education Committee Wednesday passed a bill requiring a minimum ACT score of 19 for students to receive the lottery-funded Academic Challenge Scholarship. The bill also reduces payouts during recipients’ freshman year of college while increasing awards for sophomores.

Additionally, the committee voted for a bill that would allow the Department of Education to grant waivers to school districts that fall below the 350-student threshold, which in the past has led to automatic consolidation. That bill has already passed the House.

Senate Bill 5, by Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, would reduce the Academic Challenge Scholarship award from $2,000 to $1,000 during a four-year student’s freshman year while increasing the sophomore award from $3,000 to $4,000. The award would remain at $4,000 for the junior year and $5,000 for the senior year. Freshman awards at two-year schools would fall from $2,000 to $1,000 but would increase from $2,000 to $3,000 for sophomores.

Under Hickey’s bill, students would be eligible for the awards if they score a 19 on the ACT or an equivalent. If enough money was not available, scholarships would be awarded according to who has the highest ACT score and, if necessary, by a random drawing. Under current law, awards are granted to students who complete the Smart Core curriculum and either graduate with a 2.5 grade point average or score a 19 on the ACT test or an equivalent.

Hickey said the changes would save about $3.5 million a semester over three semesters because 64% of recipients with grade point averages between 2.5 and 3.25 in high school do not maintain their scholarship after their freshman years. To keep their scholarships, students must maintain a 2.5 grade point average and take 27 hours of classes.

The legislation reduces the dollars spent for students whose academic records indicate they are less likely to stay in school. Hickey said the changes are needed because of declining revenues that will see the lottery go in the red in 2016. The lottery is expected to collect about $73 million for scholarships this current year, to be augmented with $20 million from general revenues. Meanwhile, about $102 million is expected to be awarded in scholarships. The program is solvent only because it started out with a $20 million reserve fund that is rapidly depleting, he said.

The elimination of the grade point average and the Smart Core requirements aligns requirements for public, private and home school students, Hickey said.

House Bill 1263 by Rep. Bruce Cozart, R-Hot Springs, would allow the Department of Education to grant a waiver from consolidation to school districts that fall below the traditional 350-student minimum if those districts are not in academic, fiscal, or facilities distress. The waiver would have to be renewed annually.

The 350-student minimum was created by Act 60 of 2003 as a result of the Lake View school funding lawsuit. The idea is that districts must be that size to provide the efficiencies needed for the state to provide an adequate and equitable education for all students. Sixty-eight school districts have been consolidated since that act was passed, including the Weiner School District, which was one of the state’s highest-performing districts academically until it was forced to merge with nearby Harrisburg.

Legislators have hesitated to change the 350-student figure out of concern that it could lead to another lawsuit. Cozart said he had worked with the attorney general’s office to craft a safely legal proposal.

The argument is often made that districts that drop to 350 are in declining communities and would continue to see their numbers fall. Cozart said sometimes parents lose hope and begin pulling their students out of those schools, accelerating the process. This would give those communities hope, he said.