The South Dakota House is endorsing a bill to change the requirements for the only state-sponsored needs-based scholarship.
The bill lowers the GPA requirement for the Freedom Scholarship from 2.5 to 2.0. It also clarifies language about enrollment in the scholarship and requirements for the scholarship board.
Republican Representative Will Mortenson of Pierre carried the bill on the House floor. He says the lower GPA requirement encourages students not to drop out should they have a bad semester.
“The key for the state, the most important thing for the kid, is finishing this up and getting the degree and so we pegged it to you maintaining a sufficient grade point average so that they can get that degree and not a loan”
Supporters of the bill say a student’s GPA slips below the 2.5 threshold for a number of reasons. They say lowering the requirement protects students in need from taking on more debt.
Opponents of the bill argue lowering the GPA requirement promotes mediocrity to students. They say a higher requirement for the scholarship would push students to work harder.
Senate bill 154 passed out of the House with a vote of 40 to 25. It now goes to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.
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