SENATE BILL REPORT

HB 1180

BYRepresentatives Brough and Winsley

Providing residency for certain students who attended Washington high schools and enroll in a public institution of higher education within six months.

House Committe on Ways & Means/Appropriations

Senate Committee on Education

Senate Hearing Date(s):March 23, 1987

Majority Report:  Do pass.

      Signed by Senators Gaspard, Chairman; Rinehart, Vice Chairman; Bailey, Craswell, Patterson, Saling, Smitherman.

Senate Staff:Judy McNickle (786-7423)

                  March 23, 1987

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 23, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Current law establishes criteria for determining residency status for purposes of paying college tuition.  The law distinguishes between students who are dependent on parents for financial support and those who are financially independent.  A financially independent student who has established a permanent "domicile" or home in the state for at least a year before starting college is a resident student as long as he or she established that home for purposes "other than educational".  A dependent student is a resident if one or both of the student's parents or legal guardians have maintained a permanent home in the state for at least the year before the student begins college.

Longtime Washington residents who move to another state or country and leave dependent children behind to attend high school and college in this state may find their children classified as nonresident students subject to higher tuition rates.

SUMMARY:

For purposes of determining applicable tuition rates, the statutory definition of a resident student is expanded to include any student:  who has spent at least three-fourths of his or her junior and senior years in a Washington high school; whose parents or legal guardians have lived in Washington for at least one year within the five-year period preceding that student's high school graduation; who enrolls in a public college or university within six months of leaving high school; and, who remains enrolled continuously for three quarters or two semesters in any calendar year.

Fiscal Note:      none requested

Senate Committee - Testified: Representative Jean Marie Brough