AN ACT to establish a program for tuition grants to be provided to State residents who graduate from the north carolina school of Science and mathematics to enroll full‑time at constituent institutions of the university of north carolina on a recurring basis and to appropriate funds for this purpose.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:

Part 5. Tuition Grant for Graduates of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

§ 116‑209.80.  Tuition grants for graduates to attend a constituent institution.

(a)        Program Established. – There is established the Tuition Grant for Graduates of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Program (Program). Within the funds made available for the Program, a State resident who graduates from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) in each school year and who enrolls as a full‑time student in a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina in the next academic year after graduation shall be eligible for a tuition grant awarded in accordance with this Part.

(b)        Continuing Grants. – Students who receive initial tuition grants as a cohort of a graduating class of NCSSM, beginning with students graduating in the 2020‑2021 school year, shall also be eligible to apply for tuition grants for subsequent academic years for up to a total of four academic years. A student shall be continuously enrolled in a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina after the award of the initial tuition grant to be eligible for tuition grants in subsequent academic years. The Authority shall have the discretion to waive this requirement if the student is able to demonstrate that any of the following have substantially disrupted or interrupted the student's pursuit of a degree: (i) a military service obligation, (ii) serious medical debilitation, (iii) a short‑term or long‑term disability, or (iv) other extraordinary hardship.

(c)        Administration of Grants. – The Authority shall administer the tuition grants provided for in this Part pursuant to guidelines and procedures established by the Authority consistent with its practices for administering State‑funded financial aid. The guidelines and procedures shall include an application process and schedule, notification and disbursement procedures, standards for reporting, and standards for return of tuition grants when a student withdraws. The Authority shall not approve any grant until it receives proper certification from the appropriate constituent institution that the student applying for the grant is an eligible student. Upon receipt of the certification, the Authority shall remit, at the times it prescribes, the tuition grant to the constituent institution on behalf, and to the credit, of the student. In the event a student on whose behalf a tuition grant has been paid is not enrolled and carrying a minimum academic load as of the tenth classroom day following the beginning of the school term for which the tuition grant was paid, the constituent institution shall refund the full amount of the tuition grant to the Authority.

(d)       Award of Grants. – Except as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section, the amount of the grant awarded to a student shall be the full tuition cost at the constituent institution in which the student is enrolled. No tuition grant awarded to a student under this section shall exceed the cost of attendance at the constituent institution for which the student is enrolled.

(e)        Reduction of an Award Due to Other Aid. – If a student, who is eligible for a tuition grant under this section, also receives a scholarship or other grant covering the cost of attendance at the constituent institution for which the tuition grant is awarded, then the amount of the tuition grant shall be reduced by an appropriate amount determined by the Authority so that the total amount of scholarships and grants received by the student does not exceed the cost of attendance for the institution. The cost of attendance shall be determined by the Authority for each constituent institution.

(f)        Pro Rata Amount. – In the event there are not sufficient funds available for the Program to provide each eligible student with a full tuition grant as provided for by this Part, each eligible student shall receive a pro rata share of funds available for that academic year.

§ 116‑209.81.  North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve.

The North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve is established as a reserve to be administered by the Authority. All funds appropriated to or otherwise received by the Authority to provide tuition grants under this Part, all returned tuition grant monies, and all interest earned on these funds shall be placed in the Fund. The Fund shall be used for (i) tuition grants for the academic year that begins in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the appropriation is made to the Reserve and (ii) the administrative costs of the Authority, provided that no more than five percent (5%) of the funds appropriated each fiscal year for tuition grants is expended for administrative purposes.

SECTION 2.(a)  Notwithstanding G.S. 116‑209.81, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of one million one hundred twenty‑four thousand nine hundred fifty dollars ($1,124,950) in nonrecurring funds for the 2021‑2022 fiscal year for the purpose of awarding tuition grants for the 2021‑2022 academic year to the 2020‑2021 graduating class of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics pursuant to Part 5 of Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes.

SECTION 2.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve, established pursuant to G.S. 116‑209.81, the sum of (i) two million two hundred forty‑nine thousand nine hundred dollars ($2,249,900) for the 2021‑2022 fiscal year and (ii) three million three hundred seventy‑four thousand eight hundred fifty dollars ($3,374,850) for the 2022‑2023 fiscal year in recurring funds for the purpose of awarding tuition grants in accordance with this act.

SECTION 2.(c)  It is the intent of the General Assembly to appropriate from the General Fund to the North Carolina Tuition Grant Fund Reserve the sum of four million four hundred ninety‑nine thousand eight hundred dollars ($4,499,800) for the 2023‑2024 fiscal year in recurring funds for the purpose of awarding tuition grants in accordance with this act.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2021.