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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.722 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19990415 Primary Sponsor:Jackson All Sponsors:Jackson, Glover, Ford, Matthews, Patterson, Anderson and Washington Drafted Document Number:l:\s-res\dj\011life.kad.doc Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Education Committee 04 SED Subject:LIFE, Palmetto Fellows Scholarships; scholastic test scores exempt; Colleges and Universities, Tuition History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 19990415 Introduced, read first time, 04 SED referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND SECTION 59-149-50 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO LIFE SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT OF A MINIMUM SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST SCORE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-104-20, RELATING TO THE PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, SO AS TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM GRADE POINT AVERAGE AND CLASS RANK REQUIREMENTS AND TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF THE SCHOLASTIC ASSESSMENT TEST (SAT), THE PRELIMINARY SCHOLASTIC ASSESSMENT TEST (PSAT), OR AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST (ACT) IN MAKING DETERMINATIONS OF SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 59-149-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-149-50. (A) To be eligible for a LIFE Scholarship, a student must be either a member of a class graduating from a high school located in this State on or after May, 1995, a home school student who has successfully completed a high school home school program in this State in the manner required by law on or after May, 1995, or a student graduating from a preparatory high school outside this State on or after May, 1995, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a legal resident of this State and has custody of the dependent, and these students must also meet the requirements of subsection (B). In addition, beginning with the 1998-99 school year for those students who graduate from high school on or after May, 1998, the student must have graduated from high school with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade average on a 4.0 scale, and have scored 1000 or better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or have the equivalent ACT score, 1050 or better beginning with school year 2000-2001, and 1100 or better beginning with school year 2002-2003; provided that if the student is to attend such a public or independent two-year college or university in this State, including a technical college, the SAT requirement does not apply. If a student chooses to attend such a public or independent institution of this State and does not make the required SAT score or the required high school grade point average, as applicable, the student may earn a LIFE Scholarship after his freshman year if he meets the grade point average and semester credit hour requirements of subsection (B).
(B) Students receiving a LIFE Scholarship to retain it and students currently enrolled in an eligible institution to receive such a scholarship must earn a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale each year and earn at least thirty credit hours each year for the maximum of semesters permitted at that institution by Section 59-149-60.
(C) Students who were LIFE Scholarship recipients seeking a degree at such a public or independent institution of this State during their freshman or other year who failed to earn a cumulative 3.0 at the end of the term they attempted the requisite number of hours required by subsection (B) may regain eligibility if their cumulative grade average is a 3.0 at the end of the term they have attempted at least sixty hours if they are a sophomore or ninety hours if they are a junior.
(D) By the year 2000, students graduating from high school to be eligible for a LIFE Scholarship must have passed all courses required for a STAR diploma."
SECTION 2. Section 59-104-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-104-20. The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program is established to foster scholarship among the state's post-secondary students and retain outstanding South Carolina high school graduates in the State through awards based on scholarship and achievement. Measures must be taken to ensure equitable minority participation in this program. Recipients of these scholarships are designated Palmetto Fellows. Each Palmetto Fellow shall receive a scholarship in an amount designated by the Commission on Higher Education. The commission shall promulgate regulations and establish procedures to administer the program and request annual state appropriations for the program. In order to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, a student must earn a GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale by the end of the junior year and rank in the top five percent of either the high school junior or sophomore class. The commission shall not use the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT), or American College Test (ACT) in making determinations of scholarship recipients."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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