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S 2807Higher Education

Education - Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Pilot Program Act

This bill makes the Rhode Island Hope Scholarship a permanent program instead of a temporary pilot program.

Introduced
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Pilot Program Act to make the program permanent rather than temporary. It removes the word "Pilot" from the law's title and eliminates the previous expiration date of 2030. Consequently, the bill mandates that Rhode Island College continue to submit financial and enrollment reports to state officials indefinitely. It ensures that state funding for the scholarship, which helps students pay for tuition, continues every year after July 1, 2026, without requiring further action from the General Assembly to renew it.

For younger readers

Rhode Island has a program called the Hope Scholarship that helps students pay for classes at Rhode Island College. Originally, this program was just a test (a pilot) and was supposed to end in the year 2030. This new law changes the rules to make the scholarship permanent. This means the program will not end in 2030 but will keep going every year. It ensures that money will be available to help students go to college for a long time.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
College StudentsRhode Island CollegeTaxpayersParentsHigh School Graduates
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Guarantees long-term access to tuition-free higher education for eligible students, promoting social mobility and reducing the wealth gap for low- and middle-income families.
  • Strengthens public infrastructure by permanently funding Rhode Island College, ensuring the state's public higher education system remains robust and accessible.
  • Reduces the burden of student loan debt for future generations, allowing graduates to invest in their communities rather than servicing interest payments to banks.
  • Limits the benefit exclusively to Rhode Island College, potentially excluding disadvantaged students who may be better served by the University of Rhode Island or other institutions.
  • Does not address the total cost of attendance, such as housing, food, and transportation, which remain significant barriers for the poorest students even with tuition coverage.
  • Lacks provisions to automatically adjust funding based on inflation or rising living costs, which could erode the real value of the support over time.
For Conservatives
  • Maintains strict reporting requirements to the Office of Management and Budget, ensuring ongoing oversight and analysis of the program's costs and efficacy.
  • Promotes workforce development by encouraging higher education, potentially increasing the skilled labor pool and expanding the state's tax base through higher wages.
  • Incentivizes students to attend an in-state institution, which increases the likelihood that graduates will remain in Rhode Island to live and work.
  • Locks the state into a permanent financial obligation, removing the flexibility to cut spending easily during future economic downturns or budget crises.
  • Expands the size and scope of government entitlement programs, potentially discouraging self-reliance and increasing dependency on state aid.
  • Distorts the higher education market by subsidizing one specific state college, potentially putting private institutions and other training programs at a competitive disadvantage.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 11 additions · 7 deletions

SECTION 1. The title of chapter 113 of title 16 entitled "Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Pilot Program Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: "Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Program Act".

SECTION 2. Sections 16-113-7 and 16-113-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-113 entitled "Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Pilot Program Act" are hereby amended to read as follows: 16-113-7. Reporting and disbursement.

(a) On or before November 10, 2023, and on or before November 10 and May 10 thereafter for every year through and including calendar year 2030 thereafter, Rhode Island college shall submit a report to the director of the office of management and budget, the state budget officer, the house fiscal advisor, the senate fiscal advisor, the commissioner of postsecondary education, and the chair of the council on postsecondary education, detailing the following:

(1) The number of students eligible to participate in the scholarship program;

(2) The amount of federal and institutional financial aid anticipated to be received by recipient students;

(3) The aggregate tuition and mandatory fee costs attributable to recipient students;

(4) The resulting total cost of the scholarship program to the state; and

(5) The report shall contain such data for both the current fiscal year and the most up-to- date forecast for the following fiscal year. Data reported shall be subdivided by student-year cohort and shall be accompanied by a written explanation detailing the estimating methodology utilized and any impact(s) the forecasted data may present to institutional capacity, operational costs, and the tuition/fee revenue base of the institution.

(b) On or before July 1, 2030, Rhode Island college and the commissioner of postsecondary education shall submit a report evaluating the program based on all cohorts to the governor, speaker of the house, and the president of the senate. This evaluation shall include the following:

(1) The number of students who started in each cohort;

(2) The number of students in each cohort who have attained a degree or certification in an on-time manner;

(3) The number of students in each cohort who have not attained a degree or certification in an on-time manner and an analysis of why that has happened;

(4) The number of students in each cohort who began the program but have been unable to continue or complete the program and an analysis of why that has happened;

(5) The costs of the program and the costs of continuing the program;

(6) Suggestions for ways to increase the success of the program;

(7) Recommendations as to modifying, continuing, expanding, curtailing, or discontinuing the program; provided that, on and after July 1, 2026, the program shall be deemed a continuing scholarship program; and

(8) Any such other recommendations or information as Rhode Island college and the commissioner of postsecondary education deem appropriate to include in the evaluation.

(c) The office of management and budget, in consultation with the office of the postsecondary commissioner, shall oversee the apportionment and disbursement of all funds appropriated for the purpose of the scholarship program.

(d) Effective July 1, 2026, the "Rhode Island hope scholarship program" and all references to the "Rhode Island hope scholarship pilot program" shall be construed to mean and refer to the "Rhode Island hope scholarship program." 16-113-10. Funding of and sunset of pilot program Funding of Rhode Island hope scholarship program. The Rhode Island hope scholarship pilot program shall be funded from July 1, 2023, through and including June 30, 2030 and every year thereafter. There shall be no further funding of the pilot program without further action of the general assembly. Any final reports due pursuant to this chapter shall be filed pursuant to the dates set forth herein.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.