§18B-10-7b. Tuition waivers for high school graduates in foster care.

The governing boards shall make provision for institutions under their respective jurisdictions to award a tuition and fee waiver for undergraduate courses at state institutions of higher education for any student, beginning with incoming freshmen in the fall, two thousand, semester or term, who graduate from high school or pass the GED examination while in the legal custody of the state Department of Human Services. The student must be in foster care or other residential care for at least one year prior to the waiver award. If the foster care or other residential care is provided in another state, the student must first be returned to this state for waiver award eligibility.

To be eligible for a waiver award, a student must first: (1) Apply to and be accepted at the institution; and (2) apply for other student financial assistance, other than student loans, in compliance with federal financial aid rules, including the federal Pell grant.

Waiver renewal is contingent upon the student continuing to meet the academic progress standards established by the institution.

The waiver provided by this section for each eligible student may be used for no more than four years of undergraduate study. An initial waiver must be granted within two years of graduation from high school or passing the GED examination.

The waiver may only be used after other sources of financial aid that are dedicated solely to tuition and fees are exhausted.

Any award under this section is in addition to the number of fee waivers permitted in sections five and six of this article for undergraduate, graduate and professional schools.

No student who is enrolled in an institution of higher education as of the effective date of this section is eligible for a waiver award under the provisions of this section.

The governing boards may establish any limitations on the provisions of this section as they consider proper.