Catch Title: Hathaway private post secondary institution scholarships

Sponsor: Joint Education Interim Committee

Effective Date: Effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law.

Bill URL: https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2026/HB0057

Overview This bill establishes the Hathaway private post secondary institution scholarship, extending the state’s merit-based scholarship program to eligible Wyoming students attending accredited, Wyoming-authorized private higher education institutions. It sets high academic standards for eligibility, caps the award amount and the number of participating students, and includes a sunset provision designating it as a pilot program.

Key Provisions

• Scholarship Creation: Creates a specific Hathaway scholarship category for students attending authorized and accredited private degree-granting educational institutions in Wyoming.
• Academic Eligibility: Applicants must meet the success curriculum requirements of W.S. 21-16-1307(b), maintain a minimum cumulative high school GPA of 3.5, and score at or above the 79th national percentile rank on a college entrance exam.
• Award Limits: The scholarship provides the equivalent of $500 per semester for up to eight full-time semesters.
• Participation Cap: Participation is limited to not more than 200 students.
• Reporting and Audits: Private institutions receiving these funds must report on the use of all scholarship funds and are subject to audits by the Department of Education to ensure compliance.
• Administrative Verification: Applicants must verify under penalty of false swearing that they have not been convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction.
• Pilot Program Sunset: The statutory authority for this specific scholarship is repealed on July 1, 2029.

Implications

• Incentive for Local Private Education: Although the $500 per semester award is significantly lower than some Hathaway tiers at public institutions, stakeholders view this amount as a meaningful incentive for high-achieving Wyoming students to remain in the state for their private post-secondary education.
• Pilot Program Evaluation: The July 1, 2029 sunset date confirms the legislature’s intent to treat this as a four-year pilot program (for graduating classes 2025-2029) to gather data on student outcomes and fiscal impact before considering permanent codification.
• Wyoming Residency Focus: Because eligibility is strictly limited to Wyoming residents, the Department of Education can leverage existing state-level databases for most eligibility verifications, including the required felony conviction checks.
• Fiscal and Capacity Management: While the 200-student cap creates a finite fiscal obligation for the state, the bill does not specify a prioritization method (e.g., first-come, first-served) if applications exceed available slots, though this is currently not viewed as a primary concern by stakeholders.
• Institutional Administrative Burden: Small private colleges must integrate new state reporting and audit requirements into their financial aid offices to receive these funds, though the administrative burden is expected to be manageable relative to the student benefit.
• Funding Contingency: Awards remain contingent on available funds and anticipated revenue within the Hathaway scholarship expenditure account, ensuring the program does not outpace the state’s endowment earnings.