Community and junior colleges; waive all tuition and costs for graduates of Mississippi high schools.

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To: Universities and
Colleges; Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 238

AN ACT TO REQUIRE COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES TO WAIVE ALL 1
TUITION AND FEES FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING FROM A MISSISSIPPI HIGH 2
SCHOOL; TO ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS FOR INITIAL ELIGIBILITY AND 3
RENEWAL OF WAIVERS; TO DEFINE THE TERM "TUITION"; TO REQUIRE THE 4
MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD TO PROMULGATE RULES AND 5
REGULATIONS FOR THE TUITION WAIVER PROGRAM; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 6
37-29-307, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE FUNDS SUFFICIENT 7
TO COVER THE COST OF WAIVING THE TUITION FOR PARTICIPATING 8
STUDENTS TO BE APPROPRIATED BY LINE ITEM IN THE COMMUNITY AND 9
JUNIOR COLLEGES GENERAL SUPPORT BILL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:11
SECTION 1. (1) Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, 12
each public community and junior college in the state shall waive 13
tuition for each qualified student who graduates from a 14
Mississippi high school. 15
(2) In order to qualify for a waiver of tuition under this 16
section, a student must: 17
(a) Be a resident of the State of Mississippi; 18
(b) Have graduated from a public or private high school 19
or a home instruction program no more than two (2) years before 20
seeking a waiver of tuition; 21
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(c) Be enrolling in college for the first time; 22
however, courses taken through a dual enrollment or dual credit 23
program at a community or junior college or institution of higher 24
learning while a student was enrolled in high school do not 25
disqualify the student from eligibility for a waiver of tuition; 26
and 27
(d) Have met the college's general eligibility 28
requirements and been accepted for enrollment at the community or 29
junior college. 30
(3) A waiver of tuition under this section may not exceed 31
the actual cost of attendance at the community or junior college 32
at which a student is enrolled or accepted for enrollment. If a 33
student receives other grants, scholarships or tuition assistance, 34
the community or junior college must reduce the amount of the 35
waiver by such amount as may be necessary to ensure that the 36
waiver, when combined with other forms of assistance, does not 37
exceed the actual cost of tuition. For purposes of this section, 38
the term "tuition" means the semester or term charges, all 39
required fees, on-campus housing and meal-plan costs, and costs 40
for books and materials required for classes; however, the term 41
"tuition" does not include the cost of school supplies and dues or 42
fees for extracurricular activities. 43
(4) Both full-time and part-time students are eligible for a 44
tuition waiver under this section. A waiver granted to a 45
full-time student may not exceed the lesser of two (2) years or 46
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the actual time required to complete the associate degree or 47
certificate program in which the student is enrolled. A waiver 48
granted to a part-time student may not exceed the length of time 49
required to complete the associate degree or certificate program 50
in which the student is enrolled. 51
(5) As a condition for renewal of a waiver of tuition, a 52
student must make steady academic progress toward an associate 53
degree or certification, as certified by the college's registrar. 54
(6) The Mississippi Community College Board shall promulgate 55
rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of 56
this section. 57
(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that all students 58
eligible for a waiver of tuition under this section be granted a 59
waiver. If funding at a community or junior college is 60
insufficient to waive the tuition for all eligible applicants at 61
that college, the tuition must be waived for first-time students 62
on a first-come, first-served basis; however, priority 63
consideration must be given to students previously receiving 64
waivers under this section who are making steady academic progress 65
toward completion of an associate degree or certificate program. 66
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 67
37-29-307, Mississippi Code of 1972: 68
37-29-307. (1) Beginning with the appropriation for the 69
2026-2027 fiscal year, in addition to all other funding provided 70
for the support of the community and junior colleges, the 71
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Legislature shall appropriate annually, by line item specifically 72
for such purpose in the community and junior colleges general 73
support bill, sufficient funding to defray the amount of funding 74
lost by each community or junior college due to the granting of 75
tuition waivers to eligible students, as required under Section 1 76
of this act. 77
(2) In calculating the state funding to be appropriated 78
under subsection (1) for the fiscal year 2026-2027, the most 79
current data reflecting the number of students enrolled in the 80
community and junior colleges who would have been eligible for a 81
tuition waiver in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, plus the actual cost 82
that would have been incurred by each community or junior college 83
in the 2025-2026 fiscal year if the college had granted waivers to 84
those students, must be utilized to project the necessary funding. 85
In subsequent fiscal years, the most current data reflecting the 86
number of students who have been granted tuition waivers and the 87
actual cost incurred by the community and junior colleges in 88
providing tuition waivers to those students must be utilized to 89
project the necessary funding for the succeeding fiscal year. 90
During the fiscal year for which funds have been appropriated, the 91
projections used for appropriation purposes must be reconciled 92
with actual enrollment and actual costs, and any necessary 93
adjustments must be made in the allocations to the community and 94
junior colleges during that year of operation. 95
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ST: Community and junior colleges; waive all
tuition and costs for graduates of Mississippi
high schools.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 96
and after July 1, 2026. 97