Revises provisions relating to higher education. (BDR 34-653)

Existing law authorizes, or in certain cases, requires the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to grant a waiver of the payment of certain fees, including registration and laboratory fees, assessed against certain students. Existing law generally requires those students who are granted a waiver by the Board of Regents to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale and prescribes certain other qualifications of eligibility for each such waiver. (NRS 396.544, 396.5442, 396.5443, 396.5445, 396.5446, 396.5448, 396.5449) Sections 1.1-1.8 of this bill standardize provisions and qualifications for each waiver that the Board of Regents may grant to certain students. Specifically, sections 1.1-1.4 and 1.6 require the amount of each waiver to be equal to the full balance of registration fees, laboratory fees and all other mandatory fees assessed against a student after all scholarships, grants and other financial assistance, not including loans, to which the student is entitled for that semester are applied to the balance of such fees owed by the student for the semester. Section 1.5 establishes a similar requirement for a waiver of not less than half of all registration fees, laboratory fees and all other mandatory fees that the Board of Regents may waive for a veteran enrolled in certain graduate programs. (NRS 396.5446) Sections 1.1-1.8 require each student seeking a waiver to, for each year for which the student seeks a waiver, complete: (1) the Free Application for Federal Student Aid; or (2) an alternative form for financial aid provided by the school in which the student is enrolled, if the student is ineligible under federal law to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Sections 1.1-1.8 also replace requirements that each student maintain a certain cumulative grade point average with a requirement that a student to whom a waiver is granted meet satisfactory academic progress, as determined by the school in which the student is enrolled. Existing law authorizes the Board of Regents to grant a waiver of registration fees and laboratory fees for a person who is identified as a homeless or unaccompanied pupil. (NRS 396.5448). Section 1.6 of this bill requires, rather than authorizes, the Board of Regents to grant the waiver and revises the criteria that a person is required to meet to qualify for the waiver. Specifically, section 1.6 requires that a person: (1) be 25 years of age or less when the person enrolls in the Nevada System of Higher Education; (2) for a period of not less than 6 months at any time after the person attained the age of 13 years have been an unaccompanied youth and, during that period, have been homeless or self-supporting and at risk of becoming homeless. Section 1.6 also limits the waiver to persons who are enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at a school within the System. Existing law authorizes the Board of Regents to request documentation from a person requesting such a waiver to verify that the person meets the criteria required to qualify for the waiver. (NRS 396.5448) Section 1.6 requires, rather than authorizes, the Board of Regents to request documentation to verify that the person was an unaccompanied youth and homeless or self-supporting and at risk of becoming homeless for a period of not less than 6 months after attaining 13 years of age. Existing law requires the Board of Regents to waive all registration fees, laboratory fees and any other mandatory fees assessed against a student who is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe or nation or certified as a descendant of an enrolled member of such an Indian tribe or nation and who is: (1) a bona fide resident of this State; (2) a member or descendant of an enrolled member of an Indian tribe or nation, all or part of which is located within the boundaries of this State; or (3) has been a resident of this State for not less than 1 year and is currently a resident on qualified tribal land, whether his or her actual residence is located within or outside of this State. (NRS 369.5449) Section 1.8 instead provides that, to qualify for the waiver, a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe or nation or a certified descendant of an enrolled member of such an Indian tribe or nation must: (1) be a member or descendant of an enrolled member of an Indian tribe or nation, all or part of which is located within the boundaries of this State, regardless of whether the actual residence of the person is located within or outside of the boundaries of this State; (2) have graduated from a high school in this State; (3) have successfully completed a high school equivalency assessment which was selected by the State Board of Education and administered in this State; (4) be currently enrolled in a high school in this State; or (5) be a descendant of a person who formerly attended the Stewart Indian School. Section 3 of this bill makes the changes made by sections 1.6 and 1.8 to the waivers for unaccompanied youth and Native American students, respectively, effective on July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2025, respectively. Section 1.9 of this bill requires the Board of Regents to continue providing a waiver of fees for certain Native American students through July 1, 2030 to a student who: (1) received the waiver between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2026; (2) as of July 1, 2026, is enrolled in the System; and (3) who would otherwise be eligible to continue receiving the waiver, based on the criteria and conditions established for the waiver in effect as of July 1, 2024. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the System to direct an appropriate person employed by the System to analyze any ores, minerals, soil or water taken from within the boundaries of this State which are sent to the Chancellor by any resident of this State for the purpose of performing such an analysis. (NRS 396.620-396.660) Section 2 of this bill repeals this requirement.