PIERRE - Some changes are in store for the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship program. The Board of Regents says they result from two bills the 2008 Legislature passed.

First, high school students will need to score at least a 24 on their ACT tests to qualify for the scholarship.

Another change will recognize the state Education Department's new distinguished high school graduation requirements as the curriculum needed to establish Opportunity Scholarship eligibility.

The scholarship is worth up to $5,000 over four years for qualifying high school graduates who complete a college-prep curriculum and maintain certain academic standards.