AWARD PROGRAM
House Bill 5340
Sponsor: Rep. Gerald Law
Committee: Appropriations
Complete to 2-15-00
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5340 AS INTRODUCED 2-10-00
House Bill 5340 would amend the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Act to specify that each student enrolled in grade 11 in or after the 1997-1998 school year who meets the standards described in the law would be eligible for the high school scholarship. Under current law, only students enrolled in grade 11 in or after the 1998-1999 school year are eligible. House Bill 5340 would, then, expand the number of test-takers eligible for the scholarship award program.
Under the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Act, a student is eligible to receive a $2,500 merit award if the student is enrolled in an approved postsecondary educational institution in Michigan, or to receive a $1,000 scholarship award if enrolled outside the state. The award is available to a student who while in high school has taken the state assessment tests in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. To qualify, the test-taker must a) receive qualifying results in each of the four subject areas, or b) receive qualifying results in two or three of the subject tests, and also receive an overall score in the top 25 percent of a nationally recognized college admission exam; or c) receive qualifying results in two or three of the subject tests, and also a qualifying score or scores on a nationally recognized job skills assessment test. Further, under the merit award scholarship program, a student while in grades 7 and 8 who receives qualifying results in two of the four subject tests is eligible for a $250 scholarship; if three of the four, a $375 scholarship; and, if all of the subject tests, a $500 scholarship. Note: Although the state assessment test includes a test in the social studies, the social studies assessment is not included among the qualifying examinations for the merit award program.
MCL 390.1457
Analyst: J. Hunault