SB 686

PILOT PROGRAM Present law requires the Tennessee higher education commission ("commission"") to estab lish a four-year pilot program to award completion grants to Tennessee Promise scholarship students who are eligible for and receiving services as part of the college coaching initiative delivered by Tennessee Promise partnering organizations, and who hav e an immediate financial need, or who are experiencing a financial hardship, that may prevent the student from completing a postsecondary degree or credential. This bill provides that the program is no longer only four years and is no longer a pilot progra m. TENNESSEE PROMISE COMPLETION GRANT SPECIAL ACCOUNT This bill creates a special account in the state treasury to be known as the ""Tennessee Promise completion grant special account"" to be administered by the commission for purposes of awarding complet ion grants. This bill requires that moneys in the account be used exclusively to award completion grants. ANNUAL REPORT Present law requires the commission to submit an annual report on the outcomes of the pilot program to the legislative committees no later than December 31, 2022, for the first year of the pilot program, and no later than December 31 of each remaining year. This bill requires, instead, t he commission include the outcomes of the program in the commission's annual Tennessee promise repo rt required by state law regarding the administration of scholarship and grant programs. APPROPRIATIONS AND FUNDING Present law prohibits t he commission from a ward ing more than $250, 000 in completion grants in the first year of the pilot program or in a ny subsequent year of the pilot program . This bill revises this provision to, instead, prohibit the commission from award ing more than $250, 000 in completion grants from the funds allocated to the commission from the qualified work-based learning grant fu nd in any fiscal year . Present law requires the commission to only use funds available to the commission from the unexpended balance of the qualified work-based learning grant fund to award completion grants . Subject to the appropriation in the general appropriations act, this bill authorizes, instead, t he commission to award completion grants using any funds available to the commission (i) i n the Tennessee Promise completion grant special account and (ii) from the unexpended balance of the qualified wor k-based learning grant fund established pursuant to the qualified work-based learning grant program . Beginning with the 2025-2026 fiscal year, this bill requires the commission to ensure that each college coaching initiative student is assigned a coach t hrough the program and that each college coaching initiative student who is eligible for a completion grant under this bill and who is eligible for financial aid received from the federal Pell gran t has access to a completion grant amount of no more than $ 1, 000 each semester."