ENROLLED
H. B. 4784
(By Delegates Armstead, Harrison, Anderson, Romine,
Calvert, Houston and Shelton)
[Passed March 11, 2000; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT to amend article ten, chapter eighteen-b of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seven-b, relating to state institutions of higher education;
tuition; fees; financial assistance; tuition waivers for
high school graduates in foster care; and eligibility
requirements and limitations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article ten, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seven-b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§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 health and human resources. 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.