foster care; scholarship; tribal members

SB1768 - foster care; scholarship; tribal members

Children Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Sally Ann Gonzales
Last action: 2026-02-09
Official status: Senate second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official bill metadata indicates an effective date was not listed, so it remains unknown when this law starts.

Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth in Arizona

This law creates a scholarship that covers tuition and required fees at Arizona universities and community colleges for eligible young people who have been in foster care.

What This Bill Does

Requires the state board of regents and community college districts to offer tuition waiver scholarships to qualifying students.
Sets rules so recipients must be under age 23, live in Arizona, and have less than $10,000 in personal assets.
Mandates that students complete a federal student aid application every year they receive the scholarship.
Requires students who are past their first academic year to finish at least 30 hours of volunteer service each year.
States that the scholarship amount is reduced by other public grants or federal aid, except for specific child safety vouchers.

Who It Names or Affects

Students currently in foster care who are at least 14 years old.
Young people who were previously in foster care when they were at least 14 years old.
Individuals adopted from foster care after turning 14 years old.
Foster children who are members of federally recognized Indian tribes or whose parents are tribal members.

Terms To Know

Tuition waiver scholarship: A payment that covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees at a university or community college so the student does not have to pay them.
Federally recognized Indian tribe: An American Indian group officially acknowledged by the United States government as having a special relationship with it.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not state when this bill will take effect because no effective date is listed in the text.
Students must maintain good standing and show continuous progress toward their degree to keep receiving the scholarship.
The total amount of money available for these scholarships is not specified in the provided text.

Bill History

2026-02-09 Senate
Senate second read
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate Rules: None
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate Education: None
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1768 - foster care; scholarship; tribal members

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB1768 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
foster care; scholarship; tribal members

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1768

Introduced by

Senator
Gonzales

AN
ACT

amending section 15-1809.01,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to classification of students for tuition
purposes.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-1809.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
15-1809.01.

Tuition waiver scholarships; persons in foster care;
requirements; definition

A. The Arizona board of regents shall provide a
tuition waiver scholarship at any university under the jurisdiction of the
Arizona board of regents and each community college district shall provide a
tuition waiver scholarship at any community college in that community college
district to any person who meets all of the following conditions:

1. Resides in this state.

2. Either:

(a) Is currently in foster care and is at least
fourteen years of age.

(b) Was in foster care when the person was at least
fourteen years of age.

(c) Was adopted from foster care and the adoption
was finalized after the person attained fourteen years of age.

3. Is a United States citizen or is a noncitizen who
is lawfully present in this country.

4. Has total personal assets, not including
scholarships or grants received by the person, that are worth less than
$10,000.

5. Is under twenty-three years of age.

6. Is accepted into or enrolled in a degree,
certificate or other accredited program at a university under the jurisdiction
of the Arizona board of regents or a community college under the jurisdiction
of a community college district. The person must demonstrate
continuous progress toward a degree or certificate to remain eligible for a
tuition waiver scholarship issued pursuant to this section.

7. Completed and submitted to the United States
department of education a free application for federal student aid before each
year in which the person receives a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to this
section.

8. After the first academic year in which the person
receives a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to this section, annually
completes at least thirty hours of volunteer service during the previous
academic year.

9. Remains in good standing with the policies
established by the university or community college at which the person is
enrolled.

B. A tuition waiver scholarship
provided pursuant to this section shall be reduced by the amount of any other
federal aid scholarships or public grants and any other public aid received by
that person from or through the university or community college at which the
person is enrolled, except that a tuition waiver scholarship may not be reduced
by the amount of federal grants received by the person from the department of
child safety under the Arizona education and training voucher program.

C.

B.
If
the tuition waiver scholarship is terminated before a tuition waiver
scholarship recipient obtains an associate degree, a baccalaureate degree or a
certificate and before the recipient reaches twenty-three years of age,
that person shall continue to be awarded a tuition waiver scholarship until the
person reaches twenty-three years of age or obtains a baccalaureate
degree, an associate degree or a certificate, whichever occurs first, if the
person continues to meet the scholarship criteria prescribed by this section.

C. The tuition waiver scholarship
provided pursuant to this section shall be provided on the same terms to foster
children in this state who are members of a federally recognized Indian tribe
or who are the children of members of a federally recognized Indian tribe.

D. For the purposes of this section,
"tuition" means tuition and mandatory fees charged by the university
or community college.
END_STATUTE