Committee approves scholarship programs bill

BOISE (AP) - A handful of higher education scholarships would be consolidated or eliminated under a proposal making in the Idaho House.

A bill passed on a voice vote in the House Education Committee Wednesday calls for eliminating one of the state's merit-based scholarships and redirecting the existing pool of money to the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship.

The legislation would also repeal a loan forgiveness program for Idahoans who go on to teaching or nursing careers and dump a scholarship program for minority and at risk youth.

Money from those programs would also be deposited into the Opportunity Scholarship, which provides money for disadvantaged resident students to attend one of Idaho's public, private or community colleges.

The legislation will now move to the full House for debate.