EXECUTIVE ORDER
09-09

WHEREAS, the Department of Higher Education is authorized pursuant to Article IV, sections 12 and 52 of the Missouri Constitution, and Chapter 173, RSMo; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is authorized pursuant to Article IV, Section 12 of the Missouri Constitution and Chapter 161, RSMo; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture is authorized pursuant to Article IV, sections 12 and 35 of the Missouri Constitution and Chapter 261, RSMo; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Natural Resources is authorized pursuant to Article IV, sections 12 and 47 of the Missouri Constitution and Chapter 640, RSMo; and

WHEREAS, the State of Missouri has many different higher education grant and scholarship programs which are administered by a number of different government agencies; and

WHEREAS, this causes difficulty for Missouri students and their parents when they are trying to determine how much state aid is available to assist them with higher education expenses; and

WHEREAS, the A+ Schools Program is authorized pursuant to Section 160.545, RSMo, and is currently administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; and

WHEREAS, the A+ Schools Program provides scholarships to qualifying Missouri students to receive funding for two years at a community college or vocational or technical school; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri Teacher Education Scholarship Program is authorized pursuant to Section 160.276, RSMo, and is currently administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri Minority Teaching Scholarship Program is authorized pursuant to Section 161.415, RSMo, and is currently administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; and

WHEREAS, the Urban Flight and Rural Needs Scholarship Program is authorized pursuant to Section 173.232, RSMo, and is currently administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; and

WHEREAS, the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program is authorized pursuant to Sections 340.335 through 340.396, RSMo, and is currently administered by the Missouri Department of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, the Minority and Underrepresented Environmental Literacy Program is authorized pursuant to Section 640.240, RSMo, and is currently administered by the Department of Natural Resources; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Higher Education already administers the vast majority of state grants and scholarships: and

WHEREAS, the Department of Higher Education has significant expertise in all areas of higher education funding; and

WHEREAS, centralizing state grant and scholarship programs in the Department of Higher Education allows Missouri students and their parents to work with one agency when they apply for various types of financial aid and have questions about post-secondary education; and

WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Higher Education is to deliver an affordable, quality, coordinated post-secondary education system and increase successful participation, benefiting all Missourians; and

WHEREAS, I am committed to promoting new pathways to higher education and consolidating executive branch operations to ensure that the state delivers vital services in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEREMIAH W. (JAY) NIXON, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Missouri, do hereby order the Departments of Agriculture, Elementary and Secondary Education, Higher Education, and Natural Resources to:

  1. Transfer all the authority, powers, duties, functions, records, personnel, property, contracts, budgets, matters pending, and other pertinent vestiges of the education assistance portion of the A+ Schools Program, the Missouri Teacher Education Scholarship Program, the Missouri Minority Teaching Scholarship Program, the Urban Flight and Rural Needs Scholarship Program, the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program, and the Minority and Underrepresented Environmental Literacy Program to the Department of Higher Education by Type I transfer, as defined under the Reorganization Act of 1974.
  2. Develop mechanisms and processes necessary to effectively transfer the above scholarship programs to the Department of Higher Education.
  3. Transfer the responsibility for staff support for the above scholarship programs to the Department of Higher Education.

This Order shall become effective no sooner than August 28, 2009, unless disapproved within sixty days of its submission to the First Regular Session of the 95th General Assembly.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri, in the City of Jefferson, on this 4th day of February, 2009.

[Jay Nixon's signature]
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Governor

ATTEST:

[Robin Carnahan's signature]
Robin Carnahan
Secretary of State

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