                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

GET SKILLED, GET A JOB, GIVE BACK FUND AND PROGRAM (§ 23.1-2911.2)

A. As used in this section, &#8220;high-demand field&#8221; means a discipline
or field, as defined by the list established by the Department of Workforce
Development and Advancement based on analysis and evaluation provided by the
Virginia Office of Education Economics, in which there is a shortage of skilled
workers to fill current and anticipated additional job vacancies.

B. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to
be known as the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund, referred to in this
section as &#8220;the Fund.&#8221; The Fund shall be established on the books of
the Comptroller. All gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds
received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the
Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be
credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at
the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall
remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of
providing financial assistance pursuant to subsection C. Expenditures and
disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants
issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Chancellor.

C. The System shall establish the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back Program (G3
Program) for the purpose of providing financial assistance from the Fund to
low-income and middle-income Virginia students who are enrolled in an
educational program at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher
education that leads to an occupation in a high-demand field.

D. The Virginia Board of Workforce Development, in consultation with the System,
the Council, and the staffs of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate
Committee on Finance and Appropriations, shall make recommendations to the
Governor and General Assembly, no later than December 1 of each year, for
additions or other changes to the high-demand fields that qualify for financial
assistance under the G3 Program.

E. In order to be eligible for financial assistance under the G3 Program, an
applicant shall (i) report a total household income that is not more than 400
percent of the federal poverty guidelines established by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services; (ii) be enrolled or accepted for enrollment, (a) as a
full-time student or a part-time student, for a minimum of six credit hours per
semester, in a credit-bearing educational program or (b) in a noncredit
educational program, at an associate-degree-granting public institution of
higher education that leads to an occupation in a high-demand field; and (iii)
have completed and submitted applications for any other federal or state student
financial aid program for which the applicant may be eligible.

F. In order to remain eligible for financial assistance under the G3 Program, a
participating student shall (i) meet standards for satisfactory academic
progress and maintain the required grade point average established in Title IV
of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended; (ii) demonstrate
reasonable progress to complete his specific program of study to earn an
associate degree in no more than three years; and (iii) not exceed 150 percent
of the required credits for the relevant certificate or degree.

G. Each financial assistance award under the G3 Program shall consist of (i) a
grant up to the amount necessary to pay for the last-dollar cost of the
institution&#8217;s tuition and mandatory fees and a textbook stipend after all
other federal and state financial aid to which the student is entitled is taken
into account and (ii) for any student who is enrolled full time and receives a
full Federal Pell Grant, a student-support incentive grant as provided in the
general appropriation act. Each student-support incentive grant shall be
disbursed in two equal payments, the first of which shall occur after the census
date for the enrollment period is reached and the second of which shall occur at
the end of the academic term for which the student receives the grant, provided,
however, that no student who withdraws from or otherwise stops attending the
institution during such term shall receive additional payments and that each
such student shall be subject to repayment of the funds already received in
accordance with state financial aid policies.

H. Each eligible institution that participates in the G3 Program shall provide
academic and career advising to all students enrolled in the G3 Program.

I. No later than September 1 of each year, each associate-degree-granting public
institution of higher education shall submit to the Council and the System a
report with data from the previous fiscal year on student participation in and
completion of the G3 Program, including (i) data on student enrollment, student
retention rates between academic terms and years, and student wages, including
median wages prior to enrollment and one year after completion of a credential
or degree and wage rates of students who have not enrolled in over a year and
did not complete a credential, and (ii) a comparison of job demand and
completion rates. Such data shall be disaggregated by program of study and
student income level at the start of participation in the G3 program. The
Council and System shall work collaboratively to compile the data provided by
each associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education and
annually report such data, in the aggregate and by program of study,
institution, and student income level at the start of participation in the G3
program, to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on
Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House
Committee on Education, and the Senate Committee on Education and Health.

J. No later than September 1 of each year, each associate-degree-granting public
institution of higher education that participates in the G3 Program shall adopt
and amend, as necessary, policies and procedures to ensure that student
participation in the G3 Program does not cause financial assistance awards to
exceed funds available for such purpose.

HISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 397, 398; 2024, c. 507.