Mississippi HB 81: Community and junior colleges; authorize boards of trustees to reduce or waive out-of-state tuition for certain students.

Bill Text

H. B. No. 81 *HR31/R1266* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Universities and
Colleges; Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2025

By: Representative Porter

HOUSE BILL NO. 81

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-103-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR 2
COLLEGES WHICH BORDER ANOTHER STATE TO IMPLEMENT A POLICY FOR 3
REDUCING OR WAIVING OUT-OF-STATE TUITION FOR NONRESIDENTS AND 4
ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 37-103-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
37-103-25. (1) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions 9
of Higher Learning and the boards of trustees of the community 10
colleges and junior colleges are authorized to prescribe the 11
amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students attending the 12
several state-supported institutions of higher learning and 13
community colleges and junior colleges of the State of 14
Mississippi. 15
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and 16
subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the total tuition to be 17
paid by residents of other states shall not be less than the 18
average cost per student from appropriated funds. However, the 19

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tuition to be paid by a resident of another state shall be equal 20
to the tuition amount established under subsection (1) of this 21
section if: 22
(a) The nonresident student is either a veteran, as 23
defined by Title 38 of the United States Code, or a person 24
entitled to education benefits under Title 38 of the United States 25
Code. Nonresident students enrolled in a professional school or 26
college at a state institution of higher learning are excluded 27
from this paragraph (2)(a) except for those nonresident students 28
who must be charged tuition equal to the amount established under 29
subsection (1) due to the provisions of Section 702 of the 30
Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014. This 31
paragraph (a) shall be administered and interpreted in the manner 32
necessary to obtain or retain approval of courses of education by 33
the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; 34
(b) The nonresident student is an evacuee of an area 35
affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. This waiver 36
shall be applicable to the 2005-2006 school year only * * * ; and 37
(c) The nonresident student's out-of-state tuition was 38
waived according to subsection (3) or (4) of this section. 39
(3) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 40
Learning may, in its discretion, consider and grant requests to 41
approve institution specific policies permitting the waiver of 42
out-of-state tuition when such an official request is made by the 43
president or chancellor of the institution and when such request 44

H. B. No. 81 *HR31/R1266* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: Community and junior colleges; authorize
boards of trustees to reduce or waive out-of-
state tuition for certain students.
is determined by the board to be fiscally responsible and in 45
accordance with the educational mission of the requesting 46
institution. 47
(4) The board of trustees of any community college or junior 48
college may develop and implement a policy for reducing or waiving 49
out-of-state tuition for the college if the policy is determined 50
by the board to be in accordance with the educational mission of 51
the college * * *. State funds shall be allocated and spent only 52
on students who reside within the State of Mississippi. However, 53
associate degree nursing students who reside outside the State of 54
Mississippi may be counted for pay purposes. Any policy adopted 55
by the board of trustees of a community or junior college under 56
the authority of this subsection shall include minimum criteria 57
for student eligibility for the out-of-state tuition reduction or 58
waiver. 59
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 60
and after July 1, 2025. 61