| Chapter 365 |
| 2021 -- S 0990 Enacted 07/12/2021 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION -- COUNCIL ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION (SEE TITLE 16 CHAPTER 97 - THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT |
Introduced By: Senator Sandra Cano |
| Date Introduced: June 28, 2021 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Chapter 16-59 of the General Laws entitled "Council on Postsecondary |
| Education [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby |
| amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 16-59-9.3. Student Success Act. |
| Notwithstanding any other provision of the general or public laws: |
| (1) A student, other than a nonimmigrant alien within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. 1101 (a)(15), |
| who meets all of the following requirements, shall be exempt from paying nonresident tuition at |
| Rhode Island public universities, colleges, or community colleges if he or she: |
| (i) Attended an approved Rhode Island high school for three (3) or more consecutive years; |
| (ii) Continues to reside in the state of Rhode Island; |
| (iii) Has graduated from an approved Rhode Island high school or received a high school |
| equivalency diploma from the state of Rhode Island; |
| (iv) Has filed, or will file, upon matriculation, with the Rhode Island public university, |
| college, or community college of expected attendance, an affidavit stating that: |
| (A) The student meets the requirements of subsections (1)(i) and (1)(ii) of this section; and |
| (B) If the student is not a U.S. United States citizen and does not have a lawful immigration |
| status, that the student has filed an application for lawful immigration status, or will file such an |
| the application as soon as they are the student is eligible to do so. The affidavit shall not require |
| students to reveal their immigration or citizenship status. |
| (2) Any nonimmigrant foreign national student, who has resided in Rhode Island for three |
| (3) years and has attended a Rhode Island high school for three (3) years, will be eligible to pay the |
| same in-state tuition as any other Rhode Island student. |
| (3) Identifiable student information obtained pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall |
| be confidential to the extent provided by state and federal law (including the Federal federal Family |
| Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)). If information obtained pursuant to this section |
| regarding a student's immigration status is provided to any agency for purposes other than the |
| implementation of this section, the entity providing the information shall promptly notify the |
| student. |
| (4) The Rhode Island council for postsecondary education shall prescribe rules and |
| regulations as may be necessary for the implementation of this section. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC000940 |
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