Tennessee § 49-4-938 - Helping Heroes Act of 2008.

§ 49-4-938. Helping Heroes Act of 2008.

This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Helping Heroes Act of 2008.” As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “veteran” means a former member of the United States armed forces or a former or current member of a reserve or Tennessee National Guard unit who was called into active military service of the United States, as defined in § 58-1-102. To be eligible for a helping heroes grant, a veteran shall: Have received an honorable discharge; Have been a resident of this state, as classified pursuant to § 49-8-104; Have been awarded: The Iraq campaign medal; The Afghanistan campaign medal; or On or after September 11, 2001, the global war on terrorism expeditionary medal; Not be ineligible for a grant under § 49-4-904; Be admitted to and enroll in an eligible postsecondary institution seeking an associate or baccalaureate degree; Have not received a baccalaureate degree; and Make application for a helping heroes grant for any semester in which the veteran is enrolled in six (6) or more semester hours. A veteran who qualifies for a helping heroes grant under this section is not required to meet any academic standard at the time of initial enrollment in an eligible postsecondary institution to be eligible to receive the grant. A veteran may continue to be eligible to receive the grant by maintaining satisfactory academic progress as determined by the eligible postsecondary institution attended. A student who is enrolled in at least six (6) semester hours in a semester is eligible for a helping heroes grant. If a student is enrolled in twelve (12) or more semester hours, then the student receives the full amount of the grant as provided in subsection (f). If a student is enrolled in six (6) to eleven (11) semester hours, then the student receives one-half (½) of the full grant. A student enrolled in fewer than six (6) semester hours in a semester is not eligible for the grant for that semester, but may subsequently be eligible for the grant in a semester in which the student is enrolled in at least six (6) semester hours if the student meets all other eligibility requirements during that semester. Subject to the amounts appropriated by the general assembly and any law relating to a shortfall in funds available for postsecondary financial assistance from the net proceeds of the state lottery, a helping heroes grant awarded to a student shall be determined in accordance with § 4-51-111 and shall be set in the general appropriations act. A student may receive a helping heroes grant for a maximum of eight (8) semesters. In calculating the total number of semesters a student may receive a helping heroes grant, semesters for which a student receives a helping heroes grant and in which the student successfully completes six (6) to eleven (11) semester hours shall count as one-half (½) semester in the total. A veteran shall be eligible for a helping heroes grant for any semester for which the veteran meets all qualifications for the grant and that commences prior to the eighth anniversary of the veteran's honorable discharge from military service. A helping heroes grant shall be awarded in addition to any other financial aid for which the recipient veteran qualifies. Helping heroes grants shall not be awarded for any semester prior to fall semester 2008. Notwithstanding § 49-4-903 to the contrary, TSAC shall award helping heroes grants each year on a first come, first served basis; provided, however, that no more than seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) shall be expended for helping heroes grants per year. The comptroller of the treasury, through the comptroller's office of research and education accountability, shall review and study the Tennessee helping heroes scholarship program to determine the effectiveness of the program in educating veterans. The study shall be done in the fifth year of the program and every four (4) years thereafter. The comptroller of the treasury shall report the findings and conclusions of the study to the speakers of the senate and house of representatives and the chairs of the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives. Acts 2008, ch. 1142, § 15; 2009, ch. 501, §§ 1, 2; 2020, ch. 794, §§ 53-57. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2008, ch. 1142, § 23 provided that it is the legislative intent, when additional net lottery proceeds become available in a subsequent fiscal year, that the next funding priority should be adding additional semesters to the established eligibility retention requirements for the Tennessee HOPE scholarship for students who earn a cumulative 2.75 grade point average. Acts 2008, ch. 1142, § 24 provided that, subject to appropriation by the general assembly, it is the legislative intent that six million eight hundred thousand dollars ($6,800,000) from the lottery for education account may be used to supplement student assistance awards each year. Acts 2008, ch. 1142, § 27 provided that: (a) TSAC is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of the act. The rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. THEC is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of the act. The rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. Acts 2008, ch. 1142, § 28 provided that the act shall not be construed to be an appropriation of funds and that no funds shall be obligated or expended pursuant to the act unless the funds are specifically appropriated by the general appropriations act. Acts 2013, ch. 453, § 52 provided that: “(a) For students who first received the Tennessee HOPE scholarship, Tennessee HOPE access grant or Tennessee HOPE scholarship for nontraditional students before the fall semester of 2009, award amounts for the 2013-2014 academic year (two semesters) shall be: “(1) $4,000 for an eligible student under the HOPE scholarship award or HOPE nontraditional scholarship award pursuant to § 49-4-914(a) ; “(2) $2,000 for an eligible student under the HOPE scholarship award pursuant to § 49-4-914(b) ; “(3) $1,500 for an eligible student under the ASPIRE need-based supplemental award pursuant to § 49-4-915 ; and “(4) $1,000 for an eligible student under the General Assembly Merit Scholar supplemental award pursuant to § 49-4-916 . “(b) For students who first received the Tennessee HOPE scholarship, Tennessee HOPE access grant or Tennessee HOPE scholarship for nontraditional students beginning the fall semester of 2009 or thereafter, award amounts for the 2013-2014 academic year shall be: “(1) $2,000 per semester for an eligible student under the HOPE scholarship award or HOPE nontraditional scholarship award pursuant to § 49-4-914(a) ; “(2) $1,000 per semester for an eligible student under the HOPE scholarship award pursuant to § 49-4-914(b) ; “(3) $750 per semester for an eligible student under the ASPIRE need-based supplemental award pursuant to § 49-4-915 ; “(4) $500 per semester for an eligible student under the General Assembly Merit Scholar supplemental award pursuant to § 49-4-916 ; and “(5) Pursuant to the provisions of § 49-4-920 , the award amount for an eligible student under the Tennessee HOPE access grant shall be $1,375 per semester at four-year schools and $875 per semester at two-year schools. “(c) The 2013-2014 award amount for an eligible student under the Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant pursuant to § 49-4-921 shall be $2,000. “(d) The 2013-2014 award amount for an eligible student under the Tennessee HOPE foster child tuition grant shall be determined under the provisions of § 49-4-933 . “(e) The 2013-2014 award amount shall be $1,000 per semester for successful completion of twelve (12) or more semester hours for an eligible student under the Helping Heroes Grant pursuant to § 49-4-938 ; provided, however, that the total amount expended for Helping Heroes Grants shall not exceed $750,000. “(f) The 2013-2014 award amount shall be determined pursuant to the provisions of § 49-4-939 for an eligible student under the Tennessee Rural Health scholarship; provided, however, that the total amount expended for Tennessee Rural Health scholarships shall not exceed $300,000. “(g) The 2013-2014 award amount shall be determined by the Tennessee student assistance corporation in accordance with § 49-4-930 for an eligible student under the dual enrollment grant.” For the Preamble to the act concerning HOPE Lottery Scholarships and the Tennessee Promise and Reconnect programs, see Acts 2020, ch. 794. Acts 2020, ch. 794, § 1 provided that the act, which amended this section, shall be known and may be cited as the “Financial Aid Simplification for Tennesseans (FAST) Act”. Amendments. The 2020 amendment rewrote (b), which read: “(b) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: “(1) ‘Successful completion of a course’ means that the student received a nonfailing grade as the final grade for the course; and “(2) ‘Veteran’ means a former member of the United States armed forces or a former or current member of a reserve or Tennessee National Guard unit who was called into active military service of the United States, as defined in § 58-1-102 .”; rewrote (c)(2), which read: “Have been a Tennessee resident, as defined by regulations promulgated by the board of regents under § 49-8-104 , for one (1) year immediately preceding the date of application for a helping heroes grant;” substituted “is enrolled in” for “successfully completes” in (c)(7); rewrote (d), which read: “A veteran who qualifies for a helping heroes grant under this section shall not be required to meet any academic standard at the time of enrollment in an eligible postsecondary institution to be eligible to receive the grant.”; and rewrote (e), which read: “Award of a helping heroes grant shall be made after the completion of a semester. If a student successfully completes twelve (12) or more semester hours, then the student shall receive the full amount of the grant as provided in subsection (f). If a student successfully completes six (6) to eleven (11) semester hours, then the student shall receive one-half (½) of the full grant. A student successfully completing fewer than six (6) semester hours in a semester shall not be eligible for the grant for that semester, but may subsequently be eligible for the grant in a semester in which the student successfully completes at least six (6) semester hours; provided, that the student meets all other eligibility requirements during that semester.” Effective Dates. Acts 2020, ch. 794, § 70. August 1, 2020.