Private college nursing students could qualify for grant

Students at newer private colleges in Georgia could qualify for a state tuition grant if their school offers a nursing program under legislation introduced in the House on Tuesday.

House Higher Education Committee Chairman Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, introduced House Bill 293, which would eliminate the requirement that a private school had to have been operating for at least 10 years on Jan. 1, 2011, to qualify for the grant. To receive exemption from that requirement, a school would have to begin a nursing program.

Rogers said the shortage of nurses in the state prompted the bill, which also has the support of the House’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Stacey Abrams of Atlanta.