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(a) Beginning with the students who enroll at the community college of Rhode Island in
the fall of 2017, to be considered for the scholarship, a student:
(1) Must qualify for in-state tuition and fees pursuant to the residency policy adopted by
the council on postsecondary education, as amended, supplemented, restated, or otherwise modified
from time to time (“residency policy”); provided, that, the student must have satisfied the high
school graduation/equivalency diploma condition prior to reaching nineteen (19) years of age;
provided, further, that in addition to the option of meeting the requirement by receiving a high
school equivalency diploma as described in the residency policy, the student can satisfy the
condition by receiving other certificates or documents of equivalent nature from the state or its
municipalities as recognized by applicable regulations promulgated by the council on elementary
and secondary education;
(2) Must be admitted to, and must enroll and attend the community college of Rhode Island
on a full-time basis by the semester immediately following high school graduation or the semester
immediately following receipt of a high school equivalency diploma;
(3) Must complete the FAFSA and any required FAFSA verification, or for persons who
are legally unable to complete the FAFSA must complete a comparable form created by the
community college of Rhode Island, by the deadline prescribed by the community college of Rhode
Island for each year in which the student seeks to receive funding under the scholarship program;
(4) Must continue to be enrolled on a full-time basis;
(5) Must maintain an average annual cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or
greater, as determined by the community college of Rhode Island;
(6) Must remain on track to graduate on time as determined by the community college of
Rhode Island;
(7) Must not have already received an award under this scholarship program; and
(8) Must commit to live, work, or continue their education in Rhode Island after graduation.
The community college of Rhode Island shall develop a policy that will secure this
commitment from recipient students.
(b) Notwithstanding the eligibility requirements under subsection (a) of this section
(“specified conditions”):
(1) In the case of a recipient student who has an approved medical or personal leave of
absence or is unable to satisfy one or more specified conditions because of the student’s medical
or personal circumstances, the student may continue to receive an award under the scholarship
program upon resuming the student’s education so long as the student continues to meet all other
applicable eligibility requirements;
(2) In the case of a recipient student who is a member of the national guard or a member
of a reserve unit of a branch of the United States military and is unable to satisfy one or more
specified conditions because the student is or will be in basic or special military training, or is or
will be participating in a deployment of the student’s guard or reserve unit, the student may continue
to receive an award under the scholarship program upon completion of the student’s basic or special
military training or deployment; and
(3) Any student with a disability, otherwise eligible for a scholarship pursuant to the
provisions of this section, as of May 15, 2021, shall be entitled to access this program and shall be
afforded all reasonable accommodations, as required by the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, including, but not limited to, enrolling on a part-time basis, attaining a high school
diploma/GED by age twenty-one (21), and taking longer than two (2) years to graduate with an
associate’s degree ;
(4) Any student who enrolled in a postsecondary institution by the semester immediately
following high school graduation or the semester immediately following receipt of a high school
equivalency diploma and remained in the institution for only up to one semester may enroll and
attend the community college of Rhode Island in the semester immediately following and qualify
for the scholarship pursuant to this section; and
(5) Any student may defer initial enrollment for one semester at the community college of
Rhode Island for the semester immediately following high school graduation or the semester
immediately following receipt of a high school equivalency diploma with an approved written
request and reason and qualifies for the scholarship pursuant to this section .
SECTION 8. 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: