House OKs tech school changes for HOPE grant

An effort to make more technical college students eligible for the HOPE grant was overwhelmingly approved by House lawmakers. It passed by a 169-1 vote to applause by legislators.

House Bill 372, which has the blessing of Gov. Nathan Deal, would change the eligibility requirement to a 2.0 grade-point average. That’s down from the current rule of 3.0 and a return to what existed before lawmakers overhauled HOPE in 2011 to prevent it from going broke.

Nearly 9,000 students lost the grant last year because they couldn’t maintain a 3.0 average.