MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges; Revenue and Expenditure General Bills
By: Representative Clark
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-103-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO ATTEND STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING OR COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT NO COST PROVIDED THAT THE STUDENT GRADUATES WITH A GPA THAT IS 2.0 OR GREATER; SUBJECT TO CERTAIN OTHER CONDITIONS; 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 colleges 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 is either a veteran, as defined by Title 38 of the United States Code, or a person entitled to education benefits under Title 38 of the United States Code. Nonresident students enrolled in a professional school or college at a state institution of higher learning are excluded from this paragraph (2)(a) except for those nonresident students who must be charged tuition equal to the amount established under subsection (1) due to the provisions of Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014. This paragraph (a) shall be administered and interpreted in the manner necessary to obtain or retain approval of courses of education by the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs;
(b) The nonresident
student is an evacuee of an area affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane
Rita. This waiver shall be applicable to the 2005-2006 school year only * * *; and
(c) 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 college 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) Any student who graduates a Mississippi high school, whether public or private, and who has attended high school in the state over the duration of the last three (3) years prior to graduation shall be eligible to attend any state-supported institution of higher learning or community college at no cost to the student, provided that the student's grade point average at the time of his or her high school graduation is 2.0 or greater.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.