MS HB206

Waives tuition and mandatory student fees at Mississippi state institutions of higher learning for foster children, adopted children, and wards of the state who maintain a 2.25 GPA and meet entrance requirements.

Eligible students must be currently in Department of Human Services custody in foster or residential care, be adopted children meeting eligibility criteria, or have had the department as their legal custodian on their twenty-first birthday.

Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and are limited to 120 university semester credit hours, with eligibility lasting up to 4 years after high school graduation and 5 years after first admission to a state institution.

If the tuition waiver combined with other financial assistance (excluding loans and work-study) exceeds the student's total cost of attendance, the waiver is reduced accordingly.

Requires the Department of Human Services to report annual participation numbers to the Board of Trustees and Legislature, and requires the Board to report nonidentifying graduation rate data by January 1 each year.