HB 404

Enslaved Ancestors College Access Scholarship and Memorial Program; parameters. Renames the Enslaved Ancestors College Access Scholarship and Memorial Program as the Enslaved or Displaced Ancestors College Access Scholarship and Memorial Program (the Program) and adds Christopher Newport University and Old Dominion University to the list of public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth that are required to implement and execute the Program on account of the displacement of residents of the Shoe Lane neighborhood in Newport News and residents of the Lambert's Point neighborhood in Norfolk, respectively. The bill requires Christopher Newport University and Old Dominion University and each institution that chooses to provide a college scholarship program as its mandated tangible benefit pursuant to the Program to fund such program from the institution's endowment funds or through fundraising or philanthropic contributions and to provide, on the basis of student merit and academic potential and other institution-specific criteria but without consideration of any other financial aid for which the recipient may be eligible, at least one scholarship to an undergraduate student in an amount equal to the full cost of tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board. The bill prohibits any such institution from passing the cost of any such scholarship program to other enrolled students by increasing the rate of tuition or mandatory fees. The bill also requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to (i) establish a work group that consists of a representative of each institution that participates in the Program that meets at least semiannually to discuss Program administration, including sharing best practices on administration and research, coordinating funding and fundraising strategies, developing outreach and marketing plans, collaborating on historical and genealogical research efforts, and aligning government and community engagement initiatives and (ii) develop and maintain a single statewide online portal that describes each institution's program, criteria, and investments in scholarship students or the community, lists designated points of contact at each institution, shares application timelines and processes, and offers historical context and ongoing memorial updates.