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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa establishes armed forces reserve component scholarship program for full-time students
Last action · March 7, 2025: Introduced, referred to Appropriations. H.J. 560 .Sponsor: Mike Bousselot
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What This Bill Would Do
Iowa establishes the armed forces reserve component scholarship program within the college student aid commission to cover tuition and mandatory fees for eligible reserve service members enrolled full-time at participating institutions.
Qualifying members of the reserve forces can receive up to eight semesters of scholarship awards covering tuition and mandatory fees, provided they meet enrollment, training, and criteria.
- Senate File 361 was introduced in the Iowa Senate by Senator Bousselot during the 91st General Assembly. context
- The College Student Aid Commission is an established state agency in Iowa responsible for administering various state-funded student financial aid programs. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Reserve component service members
Members of the U.S. armed forces reserve components located in Iowa become eligible to apply for scholarship awards covering tuition and fees up to eight semesters.
College Student Aid Commission
The commission is tasked with administering the scholarship program, determining scholarship distribution if funds are insufficient, adopting rules, and maintaining annual records.
Eligible educational institutions
Community colleges, regent universities, and accredited private institutions receive scholarship payments and must refund unearned payments to the commission if a student discontinues attendance.
Key Facts
- The bill establishes the armed forces reserve component scholarship program to be administered by the college student aid commission.
- Eligible students may receive scholarships for not more than the equivalent of eight semesters of study.
- Scholarships for students at community colleges are capped at the lesser of financial need or 100 percent of resident tuition and mandatory fees.
- Scholarships for students at regent universities or accredited private institutions are capped at the lesser of financial need or 100 percent of average resident undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees.
Show all 8 facts
- Members who have met educational requirements for a baccalaureate degree or were discharged under other than honorable conditions are ineligible.
- If appropriated funds are insufficient to cover all applicants, the commission determines scholarship distribution without basing eligibility on drill location or military unit.
- Unencumbered or unobligated moneys appropriated for the program at the close of the fiscal year do not revert and remain available for the following fiscal year.
- If a student is ordered to active duty, the commission may modify provisions to allow scholarship utilization within five years after the enlistment obligation ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the armed forces reserve component scholarship program?
What is the maximum amount a student can receive?
What happens to the scholarship if a student is ordered to active duty?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
12 actions- Mar 7, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Appropriations. H.J. 560 .
- Mar 7, 2025Iowa LegislatureCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 837 .
- Mar 5, 2025HouseCommittee vote: Yeas, 15. Nays, 0. Excused, 2. H.J. 537 .
- Mar 5, 2025HouseCommittee report, recommending passage. H.J. 537 .
- Feb 26, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 25, 2025HouseSubcommittee Meeting: 02/26/2025 11:00AM House Lounge 2.
Show 6 earlier actions
- Feb 24, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends indefinite postponement. [].
- Feb 20, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 02/24/2025 12:30PM Room G15.
- Feb 19, 2025SenateSubcommittee: McClintock, Dawson, and Dotzler. S.J. 315 .
- Feb 18, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Veterans Affairs. S.J. 297 .
- Feb 11, 2025HouseSubcommittee: Andrews, Ingels and Wichtendahl. H.J. 290 .
- Feb 6, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Veterans Affairs. H.J. 256 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Creation of Reserve Component Scholarship Program
The legislation formally establishes a dedicated state scholarship program within the college student aid commission specifically targeted at members of U.S. armed forces reserve components located in Iowa.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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