(a) A student must meet all of the following to be eligible to participate in the Delaware Advance Scholarship Program and to qualify for a grant to pay tuition by the State under this subchapter for the first semester or other academic unit of postsecondary enrollment at an institution:
(1) Be under 25 years of age.
(2) Be a student with an intellectual disability.
(3) Meet the state residency requirements in the institution's residency policy.
(4) Be enrolled at the institution on a full-time, credential-seeking basis or be seeking a credential through the institution's academic accommodation policy.
(5) Not have a felony conviction. The student must certify this fact. If the student is unable to so certify, whether due to minority or disability, the student's parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver shall make this certification on the student's behalf.
(6) Have applied for all appropriate forms of financial aid for which the student is eligible including the Federal Pell Grant, financial aid programs administered by the Delaware Higher Education Office, and financial aid programs administered by the institution, and have accepted all such financial assistance offered or awarded to the student, except for loans.
(7) Have graduated from a public or nonpublic high school in this State with a certificate of completion or diploma as indicated on the student's official high school transcript.
(8) Meet the institution's admission standards.
(9) Be admitted and attend classes at the institution no later than 2 years after the student's completion of high school.
(b) An institution shall create and implement its own equivalency standards for paragraphs (a)(7) and (a)(9) of this section in establishing eligibility of home-schooled students of this State for grants under this subchapter.
(c) Notwithstanding other provisions of this subchapter, the provisions of paragraphs (a)(7) and (a)(9) of this section do not apply to any of the following:
(1) A student who is a resident of this State and who acquired an intellectual disability within the developmental period between the ages of 18 and 21.
(2) A student who has lived in foster care under the jurisdiction of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families at any point between the ages of 16 and 18, whether placed within this State or outside the State.