Senate Bill 2878

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-103-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW CHILDREN OF MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO COMPLETE THEIR SENIOR YEAR IN A MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL TO RETAIN RESIDENCY STATUS AS LONG AS THEY ATTEND A MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-103-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-103-19. Resident status of children of members of the armed forces on extended active duty shall be that of the military parent for the purpose of attending state-supported institutions of higher learning and junior colleges of the State of Mississippi during the time that their military parents are stationed within the State of Mississippi and shall be continued through the time that military parents are stationed in an overseas area with last duty assignment within the State of Mississippi, excepting temporary training assignments en route from Mississippi. Resident status of minor children shall terminate upon reassignment under Permanent Change of Station Orders of their military parents for duty in the continental United States outside the State of Mississippi, excepting temporary training assignments en route from Mississippi. Children of members of the armed forces who attain Mississippi residency in accordance with the above provisions, who begin and complete their senior year of high school in Mississippi, and who enroll full-time in a Mississippi institution of higher learning or junior college to begin studies in the fall after their graduation from high school, shall maintain their residency status so long as they remain enrolled and a student in good standing at a Mississippi institution of higher learning or junior college, provided that enrollment during summer school shall not be required hereunder.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.