Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Directs Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to increase income protection allowance used in determining eligibility of independent adult student for Tuition Aid Grant Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Tuition Aid Grant Program and supplementing chapter 71B of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall increase the income protection allowance used when calculating financial eligibility of an independent adult student for a tuition aid grant to equal the income protection allowance used by the United States Department of Education when calculating eligibility for an independent adult student for a federal Pell grant.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to tuition aid grants awarded in the first academic year beginning after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) to increase the income protection allowance used when calculating financial eligibility of an independent adult student for a tuition aid grant to equal the income protection allowance used by the United States Department of Education when calculating eligibility for an independent adult student for a federal Pell grant.
In the formulas used by the State and federal government for calculating student eligibility for tuition aid grants and Pell grants respectively, a certain amount of an independent adult student’s income is disregarded. This amount is referred to as the Income Protection Allowance (IPA). The IPA used by the State is significantly lower than the IPA used by the federal government. This bill seeks to align the IPA used by HESAA for independent adult students with that used by the United States Department of Education.