(A)

(1) Except as provided in divisions (A)(2), (3), and (4) of this section, in each academic year, no student who receives a choose Ohio first scholarship shall receive less than one thousand five hundred dollars or more than one-half of the highest in-state undergraduate instructional and general fees charged by all state universities. For this purpose, if Miami university is implementing the pilot tuition restructuring plan originally recognized in Am. Sub. H.B. 95 of the 125th general assembly, that university's instructional and general fees shall be considered to be the average full-time in-state undergraduate instructional and general fee amount after taking into account the Ohio resident and Ohio leader scholarships and any other credit provided to all Ohio residents.

(2) The chancellor of higher education may authorize a state university or college or a nonpublic Ohio institution of higher education to award a choose Ohio first scholarship in an amount greater than one-half of the highest in-state undergraduate instructional and general fees charged by all state universities to either of the following:

(a) Any undergraduate student who qualifies for a scholarship and is enrolled in a program leading to a teaching profession in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine;

(b) Any graduate student who qualifies for a scholarship, if any initiatives are selected for award under division (B) of this section.

(3) The chancellor may authorize a state university or college or a nonpublic Ohio institution of higher education to award a choose Ohio first scholarship in the amount of not less than five hundred dollars but not more than one-half of the highest in-state undergraduate instructional and general fees charged by all state universities to a student enrolled in a certificate program designated as an eligible program by the chancellor.

(4) A student receiving multiple awards under division (A) of this section may exceed the maximum permitted provided that each award is within its permitted amount.

(B) The chancellor shall encourage state universities and colleges, alone or in collaboration with other state institutions of higher education, nonpublic Ohio universities and colleges, or other public or private Ohio entities, to submit proposals under the choose Ohio first scholarship program for initiatives that recruit either of the following:

(1) Ohio residents who enrolled in colleges and universities in other states or other countries to return to Ohio and enroll in state universities or colleges as graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine, or in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medical education. If such proposals are submitted and meet the chancellor's competitive criteria for awards, the chancellor, subject to approval by the controlling board, shall give at least one of the proposals preference for an award.

(2) Graduates, or undergraduates who will graduate in time to participate in the program described in this division by the subsequent school year, from an Ohio college or university who received, or will receive, a degree in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine to participate in a graduate-level teacher education masters program in one of those fields that requires the student to establish a domicile in the state and to commit to teach for a minimum of three years in a hard-to-staff school district in the state upon completion of the master's degree program. The chancellor may require a college or university to give priority to qualified candidates who graduated from a high school in this state.

"Hard-to-staff" shall be as defined by the department of education.

(C) The general assembly intends that money appropriated for the choose Ohio first scholarship program in each fiscal year be used for scholarships in the following academic year.

Amended by 133rd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §101.01, eff. 10/17/2019.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 64, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2015.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 7/17/2009.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 06-30-2007