(a) To be eligible to participate in the SEED program and to qualify for a grant to pay tuition by the State pursuant to this subchapter for the first semester or other academic unit of post-secondary enrollment at Delaware Technical and Community College or the University of Delaware, Associate in Arts program, a student shall meet all of the following:

(1) A student who satisfies the state residency requirements set forth in the Institution’s residency policy shall be eligible for such grant if that student is enrolled on a full time, degree seeking basis or is a student with a disability seeking a degree through the institution’s academic accommodation policy.

(2) The student shall not have been convicted of any felony and the student’s parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver shall certify such fact.

(3) A student shall have applied for all appropriate forms of financial aid for which the student is eligible including, but not limited to, the Federal Pell Grant, financial aid programs administered by the Delaware Higher Education Office, and financial aid programs administered by Delaware Technical and Community College, and/or the University of Delaware, and shall have accepted all such financial assistance offered or awarded to the student, except for loans.

(4) A student shall have graduated from a Delaware public or nonpublic high school with a minimum cumulative average of either 80% or higher on a 100 point scale or a grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale as indicated on the student’s official high school transcript. For purposes of this subchapter, a student who does not meet the qualifying criteria may request the institution recalculate the point percentage or G.P.A. based on the student’s official high school transcript and the following conversion table:

For purposes of this conversion chart, the numerical value assigned to a letter grade shall be the lowest value in the numerical scale.

(5) A student shall have satisfied admission standards as determined by Delaware Technical and Community College or the University of Delaware, Associate in Arts program for entering students or as determined by the University of Delaware for the Associates in Arts Program; provided, however, that no student participating in the SEED program shall be admitted into Delaware Technical and Community College by special admission standards.

(6) A student shall be admitted and attend classes at the institution no later than the fall semester immediately after the student’s graduation from high school.

(7) Each institution shall create and implement its own equivalency standards for paragraphs (a)(4) and (6) of this section in establishing eligibility of Delaware home schooled students for grants under the SEED program.

(b) Notwithstanding other provisions in this subchapter, for those individuals who have lived in foster care under the jurisdiction of the Department of Services for Children and Their Families at any point in time between the ages of 16 and 18, whether placed within Delaware or outside Delaware, the provisions of paragraphs (a)(4) and (a)(6) of this section, § 3406A(a)(1), and (c) of this title do not apply. Any individual qualifying under this subsection shall make steady academic progress toward an associate’s degree and shall not be eligible to receive grants if:

(1) The individual does not begin the individual’s higher education before age 25, or

(2) That individual takes longer than 5 years to attain an associate’s degree.

75 Del. Laws, c. 222, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 261, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 431, § 12.