H 8162Higher Education

Education - The Onward We Learn Scholarship Act

This bill directs surplus funds from RI Promise and Hope scholarships to reimburse the "Onward We Learn" program.

Introduced

Population
Affected

Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the "Onward We Learn Scholarship Act" to change how specific surplus state funds are handled. It mandates that if there is money left over in the budgets for the "Rhode Island Promise" (Community College of Rhode Island) or "Rhode Island Hope" (Rhode Island College) scholarship programs after all eligible students are funded, that surplus must be used to reimburse the "Onward We Learn" organization. The reimbursement covers scholarships that "Onward We Learn" paid for its students attending those specific colleges during that fiscal year.

For younger readers

There is a group called "Onward We Learn" that helps pay for students to go to college. Sometimes, the state government sets aside money for scholarships at two big schools—the Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College—but they don't use all of it. This new law says that if there is extra money left over from those state scholarships, the government must give it to "Onward We Learn." This pays the group back for the money they already spent helping students go to those schools that year.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

College StudentsLow-income FamiliesOnward We Learn OrganizationCommunity College of Rhode IslandRhode Island College

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Ensures that funds allocated for higher education remain within the student support system to benefit disadvantaged youth, rather than returning to the general fund.
Strengthens the financial stability of "Onward We Learn," a non-profit dedicated to helping low-income and first-generation students access and succeed in college.
Promotes equity by maximizing the resources available to students who face the highest financial barriers to post-secondary education.
Relies on budget surpluses, which are unpredictable, rather than establishing a guaranteed, consistent increase in direct funding for the program.
Redirects public funds to a specific non-profit organization rather than expanding the criteria of the public scholarship programs to cover more students directly.
Does not address the structural issues of high tuition costs, acting as a complex financial patch rather than a systemic solution for free college access.

For Conservatives

Utilizes existing budget allocations effectively without requiring tax increases or new appropriations to support the scholarship program.
Encourages the use of a private, non-profit organization to manage student support services rather than expanding government bureaucracy.
Ensures that taxpayer money already set aside for education is used for that specific purpose, preventing the funds from being absorbed into other areas of government spending.
Prevents surplus tax dollars from being returned to the general fund or the taxpayers, instead automatically transferring them to a specific entity.
Creates a statutory mandate that benefits a specific non-governmental organization, which could be seen as the government picking winners in the non-profit sector.
Reduces legislative oversight by allowing funds to be moved automatically at the end of the year rather than requiring a new appropriation process.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 13 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Section 16-70-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-70 entitled "The Onward We Learn Scholarship Act [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — the Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows: 16-70-5. Budget and appropriations. The general assembly shall annually appropriate any sums as it deems necessary as the state’s share for the support and maintenance of the onward we learn scholarship program, including operational and scholarship support~~, and the~~. Should funds remain from the enacted budget in any fiscal year from the Rhode Island promise scholarship program after the community college of Rhode Island has satisfied all eligible scholarships associated with chapter 107 of title 16 (“Rhode Island promise scholarship”), the office of the postsecondary commissioner is directed to reimburse onward we learn for any scholarships that onward we learn has paid on behalf of its students who have attended the community college of Rhode island in that respective fiscal year. In addition, should funds remain from the enacted budget in any fiscal year from the Rhode Island hope scholarship program after Rhode Island college has satisfied all eligible scholarships associated with chapter 113 of title 16 (“Rhode Island hope scholarship pilot program act”), the office of postsecondary commissioner is directed to reimburse onward we learn for any scholarships that onward we learn has paid on behalf of its students who have attended Rhode Island college in that respective fiscal year. The state controller is authorized and directed to draw their orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of the appropriations upon receipt by the state controller of the proper voucher the office of the postsecondary commissioner may provide. The office of the postsecondary commissioner shall present the voucher to the state controller no later than the last day of the first month of the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made and this appropriation shall be remitted to the accounts of the onward we learn scholarship program by the state treasurer no later than the last day of the second month of the fiscal year.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.