Conference committee swaps SB 24 for SB 44 text, delays Title IV expansion one year and raises Promise scholarship cap

A Committee on Education conference committee agreed to strike the current contents of Senate Bill 24 and insert the contents of Senate Bill 44 as amended by the House Committee of the Whole, with a one-year delay for adding two schools under the bill's Title IV provision and an increase in the scholarship appropriation cap from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000.

The change would delay the revised definition of "eligible postsecondary educational institution" until July 1, 2026, while the higher appropriation cap would take effect on July 1, 2025, according to staff discussion during the meeting.

The move comes as the state Promise scholarship program has reached its current statutory cap. "So we're essentially at the cap," said Heather Morgan, a staff member, explaining that when a student qualifies for the scholarship the program reserves funding for that student and that…