MS HB149

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 cumulative grade point average and meet entrance requirements.

Eligible students must either be currently in Department of Human Services custody in foster or residential care, be adopted children, 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 the waiver is reduced if combined financial assistance exceeds total cost of attendance; waiver covers a maximum of 120 semester credit hours over 5 years from first admission or 4 years after high school graduation.

Department of Human Services must confirm student eligibility upon request and report participant numbers annually to the Board of Trustees and Legislature; Board must report nonidentifying graduation rate data annually.

Effective July 1, 2020; waiver does not guarantee admission, does not cover room and board, and does not restrict access to other financial aid programs.