Florida Senate - 2014 SB 428
By Senator Bullard
39-00518-14 2014428__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to resident status for tuition
3 purposes; amending s. 1009.21, F.S.; redefining the
4 terms “dependent child” and “parent”; revising certain
5 residency requirements for a dependent child;
6 prohibiting denial of classification as a resident for
7 tuition purposes based on certain immigration status;
8 revising provisions relating to required documentation
9 as evidence of residency; revising requirements
10 relating to classification or reclassification as a
11 resident for tuition purposes based on marriage;
12 revising requirements relating to reevaluation of
13 classification as a resident for tuition purposes;
14 providing that certain veterans of the Armed Services
15 of the United States and persons who receive certain
16 tuition exemptions or waivers are classified as
17 residents for tuition purposes; providing for the
18 adoption of rules and regulations; amending s.
19 1009.25, F.S.; providing a fee exemption for students
20 with certain immigration status who meet specified
21 requirements; amending s. 1009.26, F.S.; authorizing
22 state universities and Florida College System
23 institutions to adopt fee and tuition waivers based on
24 certain student eligibility; providing an effective
25 date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (f) of subsection (1),
30 paragraph (b) of subsection (2), subsections (4) and (5),
31 paragraph (d) of subsection (6), and subsections (8), (10), and
32 (13) of section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, are amended,
33 paragraph (d) is added to subsection (2), and paragraph (d) is
34 added to subsection (3) of that section, to read:
35 1009.21 Determination of resident status for tuition
36 purposes.—Students shall be classified as residents or
37 nonresidents for the purpose of assessing tuition in
38 postsecondary educational programs offered by charter technical
39 career centers or career centers operated by school districts,
40 in Florida College System institutions, and in state
41 universities.
42 (1) As used in this section, the term:
43 (a) “Dependent child” means any person, whether or not
44 living with his or her parent, who is eligible to be claimed by
45 his or her parent as a dependent under the federal income tax
46 code or who is not deemed independent for federal financial aid
47 purposes.
48 (f) “Parent” means the natural or adoptive parent,
49 stepparent, or legal guardian of a dependent child.
50 (2)
51 (b) However, with respect to a dependent child living with
52 an adult relative other than the child’s parent, such child may
53 qualify as a resident for tuition purposes if the adult relative
54 is a legal resident who has maintained legal residence in this
55 state for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before
56 prior to the child’s initial enrollment in an institution of
57 higher education, provided the child has resided continuously
58 with such relative for the 3 5 years immediately before prior to
59 the child’s initial enrollment in an institution of higher
60 education, during which time the adult relative has exercised
61 day-to-day care, supervision, and control of the child.
62 (d) A dependent child who is a United States citizen may
63 not be denied classification as a resident for tuition purposes
64 based solely upon the immigration status of his or her parent.
65 (3)
66 (d) Regardless of dependency status, an applicant who is a
67 United States citizen, has attended high school in Florida for
68 at least 3 consecutive years, applies for enrollment within 12
69 months after graduating from high school, and submits an
70 official Florida high school transcript as one piece of required
71 documentation evidencing his or her residence in Florida, and
72 pursuant to paragraph (c), submits as the second piece of
73 required documentation evidencing his or her residency any item
74 listed under subparagraph (c)1. or subparagraph (c)2., whether
75 the item pertains to residency of the applicant or to residency
76 of the applicant’s parent.
77 (4) With respect to a dependent child, the legal residence
78 of the dependent child’s parent or parents is prima facie
79 evidence of the dependent child’s legal residence, which
80 evidence may be reinforced or rebutted, relative to the age and
81 general circumstances of the dependent child, by the other
82 evidence of legal residence required of or presented by the
83 dependent child. However, the legal residence of a dependent
84 child’s parent or parents who are domiciled outside this state
85 is not prima facie evidence of the dependent child’s legal
86 residence if that dependent child has lived in this state for 3
87 5 consecutive years before prior to enrolling or reregistering
88 at the institution of higher education at which resident status
89 for tuition purposes is sought.
90 (5) A person who physically resides in this state may be
91 classified as a resident for tuition purposes if he or she
92 marries a person who meets the 12-month residency requirement
93 under subsection (2) and otherwise qualifies as a resident for
94 tuition purposes under this section In making a domiciliary
95 determination related to the classification of a person as a
96 resident or nonresident for tuition purposes, the domicile of a
97 married person, irrespective of sex, shall be determined, as in
98 the case of an unmarried person, by reference to all relevant
99 evidence of domiciliary intent. For the purposes of this
100 section:
101 (a) A person shall not be precluded from establishing or
102 maintaining legal residence in this state and subsequently
103 qualifying or continuing to qualify as a resident for tuition
104 purposes solely by reason of marriage to a person domiciled
105 outside this state, even when that person’s spouse continues to
106 be domiciled outside of this state, provided such person
107 maintains his or her legal residence in this state.
108 (b) A person shall not be deemed to have established or
109 maintained a legal residence in this state and subsequently to
110 have qualified or continued to qualify as a resident for tuition
111 purposes solely by reason of marriage to a person domiciled in
112 this state.
113 (c) In determining the domicile of a married person,
114 irrespective of sex, the fact of the marriage and the place of
115 domicile of such person’s spouse shall be deemed relevant
116 evidence to be considered in ascertaining domiciliary intent.
117 (6)(d) A person classified as a nonresident for tuition
118 purposes may be reclassified as a resident by subsequently
119 marrying a person who meets the criteria to establish residency
120 for tuition purposes. In order to be reclassified, the person
121 must submit all of the following:
122 1. Evidence of his or her own physical residence in this
123 state.
124 2. Evidence of marriage to a person who qualifies as a
125 resident for tuition purposes under this section.
126 3. Documentation to support his or her spouse’s residency
127 classification A person who is classified as a nonresident for
128 tuition purposes and who marries a legal resident of the state
129 or marries a person who becomes a legal resident of the state
130 may, upon becoming a legal resident of the state, become
131 eligible for reclassification as a resident for tuition purposes
132 upon submitting evidence of his or her own legal residency in
133 the state, evidence of his or her marriage to a person who is a
134 legal resident of the state, and evidence of the spouse’s legal
135 residence in the state for at least 12 consecutive months
136 immediately preceding the application for reclassification.
137 (8) After a person has been classified as a resident for
138 tuition purposes, an institution of higher education is not
139 required to reevaluate the classification unless inconsistent
140 information suggests that an erroneous classification was made
141 or the student breaks enrollment from the institution for a
142 period of 12 months or longer A person who has been properly
143 classified as a resident for tuition purposes but who, while
144 enrolled in an institution of higher education in this state,
145 loses his or her resident tuition status because the person or,
146 if he or she is a dependent child, the person’s parent or
147 parents establish domicile or legal residence elsewhere shall
148 continue to enjoy the in-state tuition rate for a statutory
149 grace period, which period shall be measured from the date on
150 which the circumstances arose that culminated in the loss of
151 resident tuition status and shall continue for 12 months.
152 However, if the 12-month grace period ends during a semester or
153 academic term for which such former resident is enrolled, such
154 grace period shall be extended to the end of that semester or
155 academic term.
156 (10) The following persons shall be classified as residents
157 for tuition purposes:
158 (a) Active duty members of the Armed Services of the United
159 States residing or stationed in this state, their spouses, and
160 dependent children, and active drilling members of the Florida
161 National Guard.
162 (b) Active duty members of the Armed Services of the United
163 States, and their spouses and dependent children dependents
164 attending a Florida College System institution or state
165 university within 50 miles of the military establishment where
166 they are stationed, if such military establishment is within a
167 county contiguous to Florida.
168 (c) Veterans of the Armed Services of the United States,
169 including reserve components thereof, who were honorably
170 discharged and who physically reside in this state while
171 enrolled in an institution of higher education.
172 (d)(c) United States citizens living on the Isthmus of
173 Panama, who have completed 12 consecutive months of college work
174 at the Florida State University Panama Canal Branch, and their
175 spouses and dependent children.
176 (e)(d) Full-time instructional and administrative personnel
177 employed by state public schools and institutions of higher
178 education and their spouses and dependent children.
179 (f)(e) Students from Latin America and the Caribbean who
180 receive scholarships from the federal or state government. Any
181 student classified pursuant to this paragraph shall attend, on a
182 full-time basis, a Florida institution of higher education.
183 (g)(f) Southern Regional Education Board’s Academic Common
184 Market graduate students attending Florida’s state universities.
185 (h)(g) Full-time employees of state agencies or political
186 subdivisions of the state whose when the student fees are paid
187 by the state agency or political subdivision for the purpose of
188 job-related law enforcement or corrections training.
189 (i)(h) McKnight Doctoral Fellows and Finalists who are
190 United States citizens.
191 (j)(i) United States citizens living outside the United
192 States who are teaching at a Department of Defense Dependent
193 School or at in an American International School and who enroll
194 in a graduate level education program that which leads to a
195 Florida teaching certificate.
196 (k)(j) Active duty members of the Canadian military
197 residing or stationed in this state under the North American Air
198 Defense (NORAD) agreement, and their spouses and dependent
199 children, attending a Florida College System institution or
200 state university within 50 miles of the military establishment
201 where they are stationed.
202 (l)(k) Active duty members of a foreign nation’s military
203 who are serving as liaison officers and are residing or
204 stationed in this state, and their spouses and dependent
205 children, attending a Florida College System institution or
206 state university within 50 miles of the military establishment
207 where the foreign liaison officer is stationed.
208 (m) Persons who receive a tuition exemption or waiver under
209 s. 112.19(3), s. 112.191(3), s. 961.06(1)(b), s. 1009.25(1)(c),
210 (d), or (f), or s. 1009.26(8) or (10).
211 (13) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, and
212 the Board of Governors shall adopt regulations, rules to
213 implement this section.
214 Section 2. Subsection (3) is added to section 1009.25,
215 Florida Statutes, to read:
216 1009.25 Fee exemptions.—
217 (3) A student, other than a nonimmigrant alien within the
218 meaning of 8 U.S.C. s. 1101(a)(15), is exempt from paying
219 nonresident tuition at Florida College System institutions and
220 state universities if the student:
221 (a) Resided in Florida with a parent as defined in s.
222 1009.21(1) for at least 3 consecutive years immediately before
223 the date that the student received a high school diploma or its
224 equivalent and attended a Florida high school for at least 3
225 consecutive school years during such time; and
226 (b) Provides to a Florida College System institution or a
227 state university an affidavit stating that the student will file
228 an application to become a permanent resident of the United
229 States at the earliest opportunity he or she is eligible to do
230 so.
231 Section 3. Subsection (9) of section 1009.26, Florida
232 Statutes, is amended to read:
233 1009.26 Fee waivers.—
234 (9) Each state university board of trustees and Florida
235 College System institution board of trustees is authorized to
236 waive tuition and out-of-state fees for purposes that support
237 and enhance the mission of the respective institution
238 university. Such waivers All fees waived must be based on
239 policies that are adopted by the state university or
240 institution’s board university boards of trustees pursuant to
241 regulations adopted by the Board of Governors. Such policies may
242 base eligibility upon several years of attendance at a Florida
243 high school and graduation, or its equivalent, from a Florida
244 high school or upon other criteria that do not explicitly rely
245 upon state residency in compliance with 8 U.S.C. s. 1623. As
246 required by the Board of Governors or the State Board of
247 Education, as applicable, each institution university shall
248 annually report the purpose, number, and value of all fee
249 waivers granted annually in a format prescribed by the Board of
250 Governors.
251 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.