Summary — SB 2170 (Army Forces Reserve Component Scholarship Program)
Status
- Introduced: March 10, 2025 (per materials provided)
- Current status: Second reading — failed to pass (yeas 6, nays 41)
- Sponsors (in North Dakota text): Senators Dever, Castaneda, Paulson; Representatives J. Olson, Pyle.
- Note: the file provided also contained unrelated Illinois FOIA text and a different sponsor name (Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton); this summary addresses the North Dakota bill creating the reserve scholarship program.
Purpose / Intent
- Establish a state scholarship program to help members of U.S. reserve military components who are residents of North Dakota enroll in and complete postsecondary education by covering tuition costs (subject to appropriation).
Key provisions
- Creation and administration
- Creates a new chapter in Title 15 NDCC.
- Administered by the State Board of Higher Education, which approves applicants, processes applications in order received, and implements rules necessary for program operation.
- Scholarships are awarded without regard to financial need; the Board may not grant priority based on sex, race, or religion.
Definitions
- “Active duty,” “institution of higher education,” and “eligibility units” are defined. Twelve or more credit hours in a semester = 12 eligibility units; a quarter term = 8 units.
Eligible applicants
- Must be a member of a U.S. reserve component (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Space Force) residing in the state.
- Must be enrolled full-time at an eligible in‑state institution (state-controlled or privately controlled degree-granting programs, approved in‑state nursing programs, or specified high‑demand occupation programs).
- May not hold a baccalaureate degree and must not have already received specified state financial assistance (chapters 37‑07.1 or 37‑07.2).
- Those discharged under other than honorable conditions are ineligible.
Scholarship limits and amounts
- A recipient may receive up to 48 eligibility units (effectively up to roughly four years of full-time enrollment).
- Subject to legislative appropriation, the Board shall pay:
- 100% of tuition if the student is at an institution under the Board’s control; or
- The lesser of 100% of the institution’s tuition or the average tuition of Board‑controlled institutions if attending another institution.
Coordination with other aid and active duty protections
- Board may require applicants to apply for federal educational assistance (including DoD programs) and may require other aid to be applied before state scholarship funds.
- If called to active duty and withdrawing, the student must receive a leave of absence and no academic penalty; scholarship unit accounting or repayment rules apply depending on whether the institution permits completion.
Potential impacts
- Intended to lower financial barriers for reserve component members to complete degree programs, potentially increasing retention and educational attainment among service members.
- Fiscal impact depends on legislative appropriations: paying up to full tuition for eligible students could require significant state funding if uptake is high.
- Interacts with federal education benefits and existing state programs (chapters referenced); rulemaking will determine operational details (application intake, prioritization when funds limited, coordination with federal aid).
Next steps / implementation
- Program requires legislative appropriation to fund scholarships and rulemaking by the State Board of Higher Education to implement details.
- Because the measure failed second reading (per provided status), it would need to be reintroduced or reconsidered in subsequent legislative action to become law.
