MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges; Appropriations
By: Representative Dickson
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-103-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE CERTAIN STUDENTS TO ATTEND STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES; TO REQUIRE THOSE PERSONS TO MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA BEFORE BECOMING ELIGIBLE FOR IN-STATE TUITION; TO PROVIDE THAT THIS ACT SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS CONFERRING DOMICILIARY STATUS ON THOSE PERSONS OR AS THE PROCEDURE BY WHICH THOSE PERSONS MAY ESTABLISH DOMICILE; TO PROVIDE THAT STUDENTS PROVIDED ELIGIBILITY UNDER THIS ACT FOR IN-STATE TUITION SHALL BE ENTITLED TO THE SAME RIGHTS AND BENEFITS AS OTHER ELIGIBLE STUDENTS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-103-7 AND 37-103-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-103-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-25. (1) The Board
of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the boards of trustees
of the community colleges and junior colleges are authorized to prescribe the
amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students attending the several state-supported
institutions of higher learning and community * * * and junior colleges of the State of
Mississippi.
(2) Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection and subsections (3) * * *, (4) and (5) of this section,
the total tuition to be paid by residents of other states shall not be less
than the average cost per student from appropriated funds. However, the tuition
to be paid by a resident of another state shall be equal to the tuition amount
established under subsection (1) of this section if:
(a) The nonresident student was born in the State of Mississippi but subsequently relocated and resided outside the state as a minor under the care of the minor's father or mother, or both;
(b) The nonresident student is a veteran who served in the Armed Forces of the United States;
(c) The nonresident student is domiciled in Mississippi no later than six (6) months after the nonresident student's separation from service, as evidenced by a Report of Separation from Military Service or other military discharge document, for the purpose of enrolling in a state institution of higher learning or a community or junior college;
* * *
( * * *d) The nonresident student's out-of-state
tuition was waived according to subsection (3) or (4) of this section.
(3) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may, in its discretion, consider and grant requests to approve institution specific policies permitting the waiver of out-of-state tuition when such an official request is made by the president or chancellor of the institution and when such request is determined by the board to be fiscally responsible and in accordance with the educational mission of the requesting institution.
(4) The board of trustees
of any community * * *
or junior college may develop and implement a policy for waiving out-of-state
tuition for the college if the policy is determined by the board to be in
accordance with the educational mission of the college and if a local industry
or business or a state agency agrees to reimburse the college for the entire
amount of the out-of-state tuition that will be waived under the policy. State
funds shall be allocated and spent only on students who reside within the State
of Mississippi. However, associate degree nursing students who reside outside
the State of Mississippi may be counted for pay purposes.
(5) In addition to the students who may be determined eligible for out-of-state tuition waivers in accordance with subsection (3) or (4) of this section, any student may establish eligibility to pay tuition equal to the amount established under subsection (1) of this section by a showing of clear and convincing evidence that he or she:
(a) Attended a primary or secondary school for two (2) or more years in this state;
(b) Has graduated from a Mississippi high school or attained the equivalent of a high school diploma in this state;
(c) Is enrolled as a student in a state institution of higher learning or a community or junior college;
(d) Has submitted evidence that he or she, or in the case of being a dependent student that at least one parent, guardian or person standing in loco parentis, has filed, unless exempted by state law, Mississippi state income taxes for one or more years before the date of enrollment; and
* * *
(e) Completes an affidavit affirming that the individual is "a citizen, a lawfully present immigrant, an immigrant who has filed an application for lawful immigration status, or an immigrant who will file an application for lawful immigration status as soon as the individual is eligible to do so." No specification of the particular category into which the individual falls shall be required.
The provisions of this subsection (5) shall not be construed as conferring domiciliary status on those persons or as the procedure by which those persons may establish domicile for the purpose of obtaining eligibility for in-state tuition.
(6) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, persons who meet the requirements for in-state tuition under subsections (2), (3) or (4) of this section shall be entitled to the same rights and benefits as other eligible students, including eligibility for state financial aid.
SECTION 2. Section 37-103-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-7. For purposes of
determining whether a person pays out-of-state or in-state tuition for
attendance at universities and community and junior colleges, the
residence of a person less than twenty-one (21) years of age is that of the
father, the mother or a general guardian duly appointed by a proper court in
Mississippi. If a court has granted custody of the minor to one (1) parent,
the residence of the minor is that of the parent who was granted custody by the
court. If both parents are dead, the residence of the minor is that of the
last surviving parent at the time of that parent's death, unless the minor
lives with a general guardian duly appointed by a proper court of Mississippi,
in which case his residence becomes that of the guardian. A student residing
within the State of Mississippi who, upon registration at a Mississippi
institution of higher learning or community college, presents a transcript
demonstrating graduation from a Mississippi secondary school and who has been a
secondary school student in Mississippi for not less than the final * * * two (2) years of secondary
school attendance shall not be required to pay out-of-state tuition. A
student granted an exception under and meeting the requirements of Section 37-103-25
shall not be required to pay out-of-state tuition. This section shall not
apply to the residence of a person as it relates to residency for voter
registration or voting.
SECTION 3. Section 37-103-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-23. Except as otherwise provided in Section 37-103-25(3), all aliens not lawfully present in the United States are classified as nonresidents for purposes of determining tuition rates for attending the several state-supported institutions of higher learning and community and junior colleges of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.