Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 1728
By the Committee on Education; and Senators Baxley and Garcia
581-03260-21 20211728c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to an out-of-state fee waiver for
3 nonresident students; amending s. 1009.26, F.S.;
4 requiring a state university to waive the out-of-state
5 fee for a nonresident student who meets certain
6 requirements; providing applicability; requiring each
7 state university to report specified information
8 regarding such out-of-state fee waivers to the Board
9 of Governors annually; requiring that a student who is
10 granted such out-of-state fee waiver be excluded from
11 the limitation on the systemwide total enrollment of
12 nonresident students; requiring the Board of Governors
13 to adopt regulations; creating s. 1009.261, F.S.;
14 enacting the Grandchild Out-of-State Fees Waiver
15 Compact; providing the purposes of the compact;
16 defining terms; requiring postsecondary educational
17 institutions located within member states to waive
18 out-of-state fees for students who meet specified
19 criteria; providing that the waiver is applicable for
20 up to a specified amount of credits; requiring member
21 state postsecondary educational institutions to
22 require a student, or the student’s parent if the
23 student is a dependent child, to provide a written
24 declaration verifying eligibility; requiring the
25 executive, legislative, and judicial branches of
26 member state governments to enforce the compact;
27 providing that the provisions of the compact have
28 standing as statutory law; providing for the
29 implementation, withdrawal, and amendment of the
30 compact; providing construction; providing an
31 effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Subsection (18) is added to section 1009.26,
36 Florida Statutes, to read:
37 1009.26 Fee waivers.—
38 (18)(a) A state university shall waive the out-of-state fee
39 for a nonresident student who:
40 1. Is a United States citizen.
41 2. Has a grandparent who is a legal resident as defined in
42 s. 1009.21(1).
43 3. Earns a high school diploma comparable to a standard
44 Florida high school diploma, or its equivalency, or completes a
45 home education program.
46 4.a. Achieves an SAT combined score no lower than the 89th
47 national percentile on the SAT;
48 b. Achieves an ACT score concordant to the required SAT
49 score in sub-subparagraph a., using the latest published
50 national concordance table developed jointly by the College
51 Board and ACT, Inc.; or
52 c. If a state university accepts the Classic Learning Test
53 (CLT) for admission purposes, achieves a CLT score concordant to
54 the required SAT score in sub-subparagraph a., using the latest
55 published scoring comparison developed by Classic Learning
56 Initiatives.
57 5. Enrolls as a full-time undergraduate student at a state
58 university in the fall academic term immediately following high
59 school graduation.
60 (b) The waiver under this subsection is applicable for up
61 to 110 percent of the number of required credit hours of the
62 degree program for which the student is enrolled.
63 (c) Prior to waiving the out-of-state fee, the state
64 university shall require the student, or the student’s parent if
65 the student is a dependent child, to provide a written
66 declaration pursuant to s. 92.525(2) verifying the student’s
67 familial relationship to a grandparent who is a legal resident.
68 (d) Each state university shall report to the Board of
69 Governors the number and value of all fee waivers granted
70 annually under this subsection.
71 (e) A nonresident student granted an out-of-state fee
72 waiver under this subsection shall be excluded from the
73 limitation on systemwide total enrollment of nonresident
74 students established by regulation of the Board of Governors.
75 (f) The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations to
76 administer this subsection.
77 Section 2. Section 1009.261, Florida Statutes, is created
78 to read:
79 1009.261 Grandchild Out-of-State Fees Waiver Compact.—The
80 Grandchild Out-of-State Fees Waiver Compact is enacted into law
81 and entered into by this state with all other jurisdictions
82 legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:
83
84 GRANDCHILD OUT-OF-STATE
85 FEES WAIVER COMPACT
86
87 ARTICLE I
88 DECLARATION OF PURPOSE
89
90 The general purposes of this compact are to:
91 (1) Increase access to postsecondary education to students
92 whose families are split between two or more states by reducing
93 costs associated with out-of-state fees.
94 (2) Encourage students to exercise their rights to travel
95 and to choose the postsecondary education that best suits their
96 needs.
97 (3) Increase postsecondary educational choices.
98 (4) Decrease the economic burden posed by postsecondary
99 out-of-state fees.
100
101 ARTICLE II
102 DEFINITIONS
103
104 As used in this compact, the term:
105 (1) “Grandparent” means a person who has a legal
106 relationship to a student’s parent as the natural or adopted
107 parent or legal guardian of the student’s parent.
108 (2) “Member state” means a state that has enacted this
109 compact.
110 (3) “Out-of-state fees” means any additional fee for
111 instruction, which is charged to a student who does not qualify
112 for the in-state tuition rate pursuant to the laws of a member
113 state, imposed by a public postsecondary educational institution
114 located within the member state. A charge for any other purpose
115 may not be included within this fee.
116 (4) “Postsecondary educational institution” means a public
117 university or college located within a member state.
118 (5) “State” includes the District of Columbia and any
119 state, territory, or possession of the United States which
120 oversees one or more public postsecondary educational
121 institutions.
122 (6) “Student’s parent” means a person who has a legal
123 relationship to a student as the natural or adopted parent or
124 legal guardian of the student.
125
126 ARTICLE III
127 OUT-OF-STATE FEES WAIVER
128
129 (1) Postsecondary educational institutions located within
130 each member state shall waive out-of-state fees for a
131 nonresident student who:
132 (a) Is a United States citizen.
133 (b) Has a grandparent who is a legal resident under the
134 applicable laws of the member state.
135 (c)1. Achieves an SAT combined score no lower than the 89th
136 national percentile on the SAT;
137 2. Achieves an ACT score concordant to the SAT score
138 required in subparagraph 1., as designated in the latest
139 published national concordance table developed jointly by the
140 College Board and ACT, Inc.; or
141 3. Achieves a Classic Learning Test (CLT) score concordant
142 to the required SAT score in subparagraph 1., as designated in
143 the latest published scoring comparison developed by Classic
144 Learning Initiatives, but only if the member state postsecondary
145 institution accepts the CLT for admission purposes.
146 (d) Enrolls as a full-time undergraduate student at a
147 member state postsecondary institution in the fall academic term
148 immediately following high school graduation.
149 (2) The waiver under this compact is applicable for up to
150 110 percent of the number of required credit hours of the degree
151 program in which the student is enrolled.
152 (3) Prior to waiving any out-of-state fees, a member state
153 postsecondary educational institution shall require the student,
154 or the student’s parent if the student is a dependent child, to
155 provide a written declaration verifying the student’s familial
156 relationship to a grandparent who is a legal resident of the
157 member state.
158
159 ARTICLE IV
160 OVERSIGHT
161
162 The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state
163 government in each member state shall enforce this compact and
164 take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the
165 compact’s purposes and intent. The provisions of this compact
166 have standing as statutory law.
167
168 ARTICLE V
169 DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION, WITHDRAWAL, AND AMENDMENT
170
171 (1) The compact shall take effect on the date on which it
172 is enacted into law by two states. Thereafter it is effective as
173 to any state upon its enactment by that state.
174 (2) A member state may withdraw from this compact by
175 repealing the statute in which it is enacted. A member state’s
176 withdrawal may not take effect until 6 months after enactment of
177 the repeal.
178 (3) This compact may not be construed to invalidate or
179 prohibit any law of a member state that does not conflict with
180 the provisions of this compact.
181 (4) This compact may be amended by the member states. An
182 amendment to this compact is effective and binding after it is
183 enacted into the laws of all member states.
184
185 ARTICLE VI
186 CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY
187
188 This compact shall be liberally construed so as to
189 effectuate its purposes. The provisions of this compact are
190 severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision
191 thereof is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any
192 state or to the Constitution of the United States, or the
193 application thereof to any government, agency, person, or
194 circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of
195 this compact and the applicability thereof to any government,
196 agency, person, or circumstance is not affected thereby. If this
197 compact is held to be contrary to the constitution of any state
198 participating therein, it remains in full force and effect as to
199 the state affected as to all severable provisions.
200 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.