Committee hears proposal to standardize service scholarship repayment at 5%

A House Education Committee on Thursday heard testimony on Senate Bill 50, a measure to create uniform repayment terms for state service scholarships administered by the Kansas Board of Regents, including a flat 5% annual interest rate and clarified accrual timing for repayment obligations.

The bill, described by a committee reviser as amendments “regarding uniform repayment terms, and conditions, for, service scholarships that are administered by the Kansas Board of Regents,” would set a single interest rate and allow the board to determine the accrual date when a recipient’s repayment obligation begins, the reviser said during opening remarks.

The proposal is intended to simplify disparate statutory terms across multiple programs and to limit the long‑run financial burden on students who fail to meet service requirements. “Senate Bill 50 was introduced at the request of the Kansas Board of Regents,” Elaine Frisbie, vice president for finance and administration at the Board of Regents, told the committee.

Key provisions described to the committee

- A uniform interest rate of 5% per annum for repayment obligations…