FINANCIAL LIABILITY
House Bill 5785
Sponsor: Rep. Doug Spade
Committee: Education
Complete to 6-1-00
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5785 AS INTRODUCED 5-11-00
Under the Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act, school districts are required to pay tuition and other fees for eligible high school students to enroll in certain courses in postsecondary institutions. Generally, to be eligible, a student must be in at least grade 11 and meet certain other requirements, and the postsecondary course must be one not generally offered by the school district. The act specifies that if a student enrolled in a postsecondary course under these provisions does not complete the course, the postsecondary institution is required to forward any refund to the school district. If the refund exceeds the costs paid by the school district, the district in turn is to refund the excess to the student.
House Bill 5785 would amend this provision to require a student to repay the school district for costs expended for a postsecondary course that are not refunded by the postsecondary institution. If the student did not repay the funds (or enter into an agreement to repay) before his or her graduation, the school district could withhold the student's diploma or transcripts, or both, until repayment was made or agreed upon. The bill would also require school districts to inform students who are considering postsecondary enrollment that they could be required to repay funds if they did not complete the course. Further, before enrolling in a postsecondary course under the act, a student and his or her parent would have to file with the school district a signed form agreeing to repay funds if the student does not complete the course, as provided in the bill.
MCL 388.514 and 388.519
Analyst: D. Martens