Identical to S 212, filed 3/9/21.

Changes the criteria to qualify as an eligible private postsecondary institution under GS 116-280(3) for purposes of Article 34, which provides for need-based scholarships for students attending private postsecondary institutions of higher education. Regarding the accreditation criteria for qualification of a nonprofit postsecondary institution with a main permanent campus in the State that is not owned or operated by the State or its agencies or subdivisions, now requires that the school be either (1) accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) or by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges through its Commission of Higher Education, or (2) accredited by SACSCOC on January 1, 2021, and beginning January 1, 2021, a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (currently only provides for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools under the standards of the College Delegate Assembly of the Association or by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education). Applies beginning with scholarships awarded for the 2021-22 academic year.