The Alabama Senate passed a bill Thursday changing the qualifications for a grant program for adult learners.
SB 72, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, lowers the age for the ReEngage Alabama Grant Program from 25 to 22. The program is administered through the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and covers adult learners with some college credits but no degree.
“It was at 25 years of age, and age has been lowered to age 22 to get those who want to get back engaged in college to be eligible for scholarships at age 22 rather than 25,” Chesteen said.
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The bill requires eligible students to be Alabama residents. They must also have either started, but did not complete, their first associate or bachelor’s degree; or started, but did not complete, their bachelor’s degree after receiving an associate degree following a two-year period where they were not in school.
Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, spoke in favor of the bill.
“I know some of my constituents that fall into that category,” Smitherman said. “They don’t qualify for Pell Grants, that’s run out, and yet they want to get back in school. They want to get an associate.”
Eligible students may receive up to $3,000 for universities and $1,500 for community colleges from ACHE per semester as long as they are enrolled as a full time student. Proportional awards are also available for students not enrolled full time. Students are eligible for the grant each semester until they get their degree.
The Senate also passed a bill that expands a loan assistance program for teachers. SB 74, also sponsored by Chesteen, renames the Alabama Math and Science Teacher Education Program (AMSTEP) to the Loan Assistance in Support of Educators in Alabama (LASEA) Program. Chesteen said the program aims to address teacher shortages in the state.
“By changing the name, it would expand that to allow those teachers that were in fields where there was an acute shortage to be eligible for that long repayment as well,” Chesteen said.
The program, administered by ACHE, has two levels, according to the bill. The first is known as “base support” and includes $7,500 per year worked towards a teacher’s student loan for four consecutive years. The second is “supplemental support” and includes $3,000 per year worked towards a teacher’s student loan for four consecutive years.
The program only applies to full-time teachers who work in school systems that ACHE and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) designate as having an “acute educator shortage.”
Both bills passed 30-0, and both will go to the House.
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