General Assembly

 

Substitute Bill No. 17

    January Session, 2017

 

*_____SB00017HED___031717____*

AN ACT ASSISTING STUDENTS WITHOUT LEGAL IMMIGRATION STATUS WITH THE COST OF COLLEGE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2017) (a) Beginning in the fall semester of 2018, and for each semester thereafter, in accordance with 8 USC 1621(d), any person who is entitled to classification as an in-state student for tuition purposes, including any person without legal immigration status who files an affidavit with an institution of higher education stating that such person has filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status, or will file such application as soon as he or she is eligible, pursuant to section 10a-29 of the general statutes, shall be eligible to apply for and receive, to the extent permitted by federal law, institutional financial aid to attend a public institution of higher education in the state from the funds set aside by the constituent unit, as defined in section 10a-1 of the general statutes. For the purposes of this section, "institutional financial aid" means funds set aside from the anticipated tuition revenue of an institution of higher education for the purposes of providing tuition waivers, tuition remissions, grants for educational expenses, and student employment for residents of the state enrolled as full or part-time matriculated students in a degree-granting program or enrolled in a precollege remedial program and who demonstrate substantial financial need.

(b) Not later than January 1, 2018, the Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Board of Trustees for The University of Connecticut shall establish procedures and develop forms to enable persons who are eligible for institutional financial aid under subsection (a) of this section to apply for and receive, to the extent permitted by federal law, such institutional financial aid.

(c) Nothing in this section is intended to require or compel a public institution of higher education to match the amount of federal student financial aid a person eligible for institutional financial aid under subsection (a) of this section would receive if such person was eligible for such federal student financial aid.

(d) The Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Board of Trustees for The University of Connecticut may adopt policies as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1

July 1, 2017

New section

HED

Joint Favorable Subst.