Requires any remaining funds in the enacted budget from the RI promise scholarship program or the RI hope scholarship program, after Rhode Island college has satisfied all eligible scholarships to be reimbursed to onward we learn.

Plain-English Summary

This bill deals with how leftover money is handled in two Rhode Island college scholarship programs: the RI Promise Scholarship and the RI Hope Scholarship, both of which help students pay for college at Rhode Island College. Currently, when all eligible students have received their scholarship awards, any unspent money from the state budget allocated to these programs stays within the existing system. This bill would change that by requiring Rhode Island College to send any remaining funds back to a separate organization called Onward We Learn.

Onward We Learn is a scholarship organization that supports Rhode Island students with financial aid for higher education. Under this bill, once Rhode Island College has paid out all scholarships to every student who qualifies under the Promise and Hope programs, any leftover budget dollars would be redirected to Onward We Learn rather than remaining unused or being absorbed elsewhere.

This bill would primarily affect students who benefit from Onward We Learn scholarships, as the organization would potentially receive additional funding to support more students. It would also affect Rhode Island College's financial administration, since they would be responsible for identifying and transferring those remaining funds. Taxpayers and state budget managers would also be indirectly affected, as this changes how publicly allocated education dollars are distributed.

The bill has been introduced and referred to the House Finance Committee, meaning it is in the early stages of the legislative process and has not yet been voted on.