1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to higher education; providing for the 
  1.3             repayment of grants under certain conditions; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 136A.131, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes, chapter 136A. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [136A.096] [GRANTS TO BE CONDITIONAL.] 
  1.9      Grants under sections 136A.095 to 136A.1311 are an 
  1.10  investment by the state into the students that receive them.  As 
  1.11  a significant financial commitment is made by the state to the 
  1.12  state grant program, the legislature expects students who 
  1.13  receive grants to fulfill an obligation of completing their 
  1.14  education.  To that end, grants under sections 136A.095 to 
  1.15  136A.1311 are conditioned upon completion by the student, of the 
  1.16  student's education. 
  1.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 136A.131, is 
  1.18  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.19     Subd. 5.  [REPAYMENT OF GRANT.] (a) The office shall 
  1.20  provide by rule the method of repayment to the state of a grant 
  1.21  under sections 136A.095 to 136A.1311 in the event the student 
  1.22  fails to complete the student's education.  For purposes of this 
  1.23  subdivision, transfer by the student to another postsecondary 
  1.24  institution or change by the student of the student's degree or 
  1.25  program is not failure to complete the education.  Rules adopted 
  1.26  under this subdivision must provide for good cause and financial 
  2.1   hardship exceptions to the repayment penalty under this 
  2.2   subdivision.  
  2.3      (b) A student, without having obtained a degree, must have 
  2.4   failed to enroll in any postsecondary institution for more than 
  2.5   one year, in order to be subject to the repayment penalty under 
  2.6   this subdivision.  If a student re-enrolls in a postsecondary 
  2.7   institution after being subject to the repayment penalty, the 
  2.8   student is no longer subject to the repayment penalty so long as 
  2.9   the student completes the student's education.  A student who 
  2.10  re-enrolls in a postsecondary institution under this paragraph 
  2.11  may receive credit or refund of payments made towards the 
  2.12  penalty under this subdivision. 
  2.13     (c) The office shall develop and provide information about 
  2.14  the repayment penalty under this subdivision to eligible 
  2.15  institutions and potential applicants.  The information under 
  2.16  this paragraph must include a notice to all grant recipients 
  2.17  advising them of the repayment penalty they may be subject to 
  2.18  under this subdivision. 
  2.19     (d) For purposes of this subdivision, a "postsecondary 
  2.20  institution" means a public or private postsecondary educational 
  2.21  institution (1) located in this state or (2) located in another 
  2.22  state and, as determined by the office, is operated and 
  2.23  maintains academic standards substantially equivalent to those 
  2.24  of comparable institutions located and operated in this state. 
  2.25     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.26     Section 1 is effective for grants made on or after .......