CCS HCS SCS SB 733 -- HIGHER EDUCATION

This bill changes the laws regarding the Higher Education
Academic Scholarship Program, commonly known as the Bright Flight
Scholarship Program; the Access Missouri Financial Assistance
Program; and higher education research technology transfer.

BRIGHT FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Eligibility for a Bright Flight scholarship is expanded to
include a Missouri resident who has received a General Education
Development (GED) diploma or who has completed a homeschooling
program, secondary coursework through a virtual public school, or
other academic instruction program that satisfies the compulsory
school attendance law.  A student's qualifying score for the
scholarship will be determined at the beginning of his or her
last year of secondary coursework.  Currently, a student scoring
in the top 4% and 5% of Missouri ACT or SAT test-takers receives
an annual $1,000 award.  The bill clarifies that all students in
the top 3% will receive their awards of up to $3,000 per year
before any student in the top fourth or fifth percentiles
receives an award of up to $1,000 per year.

Currently, a student is allowed to receive a renewal scholarship
for three years.  The bill allows a student's scholarship to be
renewed for as long as he or she is in compliance with the
program's renewal requirements.  If a scholarship recipient
cannot attend an approved institution because of military service
in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, the
student will be offered the scholarship if he or she returns to
full-time status within six months after ending the military
service and verifying to the Coordinating Board for Higher
Education within the Department of Higher Education that the
service was satisfactorily completed.

ACCESS MISSOURI FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Currently, a student at a public four-year institution, including
Linn State Technical College, receives a maximum financial
assistance award of $2,150 and a student at a private institution
receives a maximum of $4,600 from the Access Missouri Financial
Assistance Program.  Beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year,
the bill combines the categories for these schools into one with
a $2,850 maximum and a $1,500 minimum award and increases the
maximum award for a community college from $1,000 to $1,300.

The bill also repeals the expiration date of the program and
specifies that any provisions regarding a termination date will
not apply to the program.

HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

The bill specifies that an entity in which an institution of
higher education holds an ownership or membership interest will
not be deemed to be a public governmental or quasi-public
governmental body as it relates to the Open Meetings and Records
Law, commonly known as the Sunshine Law, if the entity is engaged
primarily in activities involving commercialization of the skills
or knowledge of the institution's faculty or of the institution's
research, research capabilities, intellectual property,
technology, or technological resources and the institution
maintains as an open record an annual report, available no later
than October 1, identifying specified information.  Meetings,
records, and votes may be closed to the extent that they relate
to records or information submitted in connection with a proposal
or agreement to license intellectual property or perform
sponsored research involving students, faculty, or staff or to
promote or pursue economic development and which contain sales
projections or other business plans, financial information, or
trade secrets of which the disclosure may endanger the
competitiveness of a business.

The bill contains an emergency clause for the provisions
regarding higher education research technology transfer.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:14 pm