HB 793: Regards cost of attendance at institutions of higher education
The bill aims to improve access to higher education in Ohio by requiring institutions of higher education to report the cost of attendance for in-state students. This information will be publicly available on the chancellor's website. The bill also establishes a merit-based scholarship program, providing up to $5,000 per year to high-achieving high school graduates who remain in Ohio to pursue higher education. The program aims to allow high-achieving students to remain in Ohio, contributing to the state's economic growth. Eligible students must be in the top five percent of their graduating class, as determined by their school. The program is intended to be accessible to home-schooled students as well. Institutions of higher education that enroll students receiving merit-based financial aid must maintain the same level of aid they provided in the previous academic year.
| May. 13, 2026 | Referred to committee: Workforce and Higher Education |
| Mar. 25, 2026 | Introduced |
As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session
2025-2026
Representative Thomas, J.
To enact section 3333.0421 of the Revised Code and
to amend Section 381.400 of H.B. 96 of the 136th
General Assembly regarding cost of attendance at
institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
That section 3333.0421 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3333.0421.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Institution of higher education" means either of the
following:
(a) A private college, as defined in section 3365.01 of
the Revised Code;
(b) A state institution of higher education, as defined in
section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Ohio resident" means a resident of this state under
rules adopted under section 3333.31 of the Revised Code.
(B) Annually, each institution of higher education shall
report to the chancellor, in a form and manner prescribed by the
chancellor, the cost of attendance for an Ohio resident who is
enrolled as an undergraduate student in the institution in that
academic year.
(C) Annually, the chancellor shall post both of the
following on a web page on the chancellor's public web site:
(1) The definition of "cost of attendance" prescribed in
20 U.S.C. 108711;
(2) Each cost of attendance reported by an institution of
higher education under this section.
As Introduced
That Section 381.400 of H.B. 96 of the 136th
General Assembly be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 381.400. GOVERNOR'S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP
(A) The foregoing appropriation item 235530, Governor's
Merit Scholarship, shall be used by the Chancellor of Higher
Education to administer the Governor's Merit Scholarship Program
and to award merit-based aid to qualifying institutions on
behalf of eligible students. Funds awarded under this section
shall be used in a manner consistent with the goal of allowing
high-achieving high school graduates to remain in Ohio to pursue
their post-secondary studies and contribute to Ohio's expanding
economic opportunities.
(B) In awarding funds under this section, and to the
extent that funds are sufficient to do so, the Chancellor shall
provide per-student awards of $5,000 per academic year to
eligible students determined to be in the top five per cent of
their public or nonpublic high school graduating class at the
end of their junior year, as determined by their public or
nonpublic high school using criteria established by the
Chancellor in consultation with the Director of Education and
Workforce. School districts and nonpublic high schools shall
provide the information as requested by the Chancellor to
determine scholarship eligibility. Eligible students shall
receive an award for up to the equivalent of four academic years
of instruction at a qualifying institution, contingent on
satisfactory academic progress.
(C) The Chancellor, in consultation with the Director,
shall determine eligibility for graduating high school students
who were home schooled to provide a level of access to the
program described in this section that is reasonably
commensurate with the merit-based criteria used to determine
eligibility for students graduating from a public or nonpublic
high school.
(D) The Governor's Merit Scholarship shall be used to pay
eligible expenses, as determined by the Chancellor, included
within the published cost of attendance at a qualifying
institution.
(E) A qualifying institution shall not make changes to
scholarship or financial aid programs offered by that
institution that have the goal or net effect of shifting the
cost burden of those programs to the program described in this
section. Institutions of higher education that enroll students
receiving merit-based financial aid grants under this section
shall maintain the same level of merit-based financial aid the
institution provided in the most recent academic year in the
aggregate to all students or on a per-student basis.
No qualifying institution shall reduce the amount of
institutional financial aid it has offered to a student who
receives a scholarship under this section, unless the student's
total financial aid exceeds the institution's cost of attendance
posted under section 3333.0421 of the Revised Code. In that
case, the qualifying institution shall reduce the student's
institutional financial aid until the student's total financial
aid is equal to the cost of attendance.
(F) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
the Chancellor may establish guidelines for the purpose of
implementing this section, except that the Chancellor shall not
place limits on the number of students receiving an award under
this section that enroll at a qualifying institution.
(G) As used in this section, "qualifying institution"
means any of the following:
(1) A state institution of higher education, as defined in
section 3345.011 of the Revised Code;
(2) A private nonprofit institution of higher education
holding a certificate of authorization under Chapter 1713. of
the Revised Code.
That existing Section 381.400 of H.B. 96 of the
136th General Assembly is hereby repealed.