A BILL to amend and reenact § 23.1-506 of the Code of Virginia, relating to institutions of higher education; eligibility for in-state tuition for citizens of federally recognized Virginia tribes.
HB287 amends Virginia’s in-state tuition statute for public institutions of higher education. The bill adds a new eligibility category for non-Virginia students who are members or citizens of a federally recognized tribe and who are enrolled in an undergraduate degree program, allowing them to receive in-state tuition regardless of domicile. It also adds a parallel provision allowing such students in graduate or professional programs to be charged in-state tuition at the discretion of the governing board of the institution.
The bill retains and restates the existing list of students who may qualify for in-state tuition without regard to domicile, including certain out-of-state workers and dependents, military members and veterans, surviving spouses, foreign service personnel and dependents, refugees and Special Immigrant Visa holders, and victims of human trafficking. It also preserves existing reciprocal and dual-enrollment tuition provisions and clarifies how students granted in-state tuition under these exceptions are counted for admissions, enrollment, and tuition revenue purposes. For tribal students, the bill specifically defines “federally recognized tribe” by reference to both state acknowledgment and federal recognition.
In practical terms, HB287 would expand access to lower in-state tuition rates at Virginia public colleges and universities for eligible tribal students, potentially reducing their cost of attendance and increasing enrollment opportunities. It would also affect institutional reporting and revenue calculations by directing how these students are counted for admissions and tuition policy purposes. The bill would amend § 23.1-506 of the Code of Virginia, which governs in-state tuition eligibility.
The available context suggests the bill did not advance out of committee, as it was left in the House Appropriations Committee. There are no recorded votes or committee transcripts provided, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to indicate broader support or opposition. Based on the bill’s subject matter, the measure appears to be a targeted access-and-equity proposal rather than a controversial restructuring of tuition law.
The main point of potential contention is the expansion of in-state tuition eligibility to nonresident tribal members, particularly the extension to graduate and professional students, which may raise fiscal and policy questions about who should receive resident-rate tuition. More generally, any concerns would likely center on the revenue impact to public institutions and whether the eligibility expansion should be mandatory for undergraduates and discretionary for graduate programs. No specific opposition arguments are recorded in the provided materials.
HB287 would amend § 23.1-506 of the Code of Virginia to create a new in-state tuition eligibility category for members or citizens of federally recognized tribes, with mandatory eligibility for undergraduate students and permissive eligibility for graduate and professional students. It would also preserve and restate existing exceptions to domicile-based tuition rules and require institutions to count these students in specified admissions, enrollment, and revenue calculations. The bill would directly affect public institutions of higher education, tribal students, and institutional tuition policy administration.
The available record shows limited public process information: no committee transcript, no recorded votes, and the bill was left in the House Appropriations Committee. That suggests the measure did not generate a documented consensus strong enough to move forward. On its face, the bill appears to have been framed as an access-oriented higher education measure, with no explicit evidence in the record of organized support or opposition, though the Appropriations referral implies fiscal considerations were relevant.
The most notable policy issue is whether nonresident citizens or members of federally recognized tribes should receive resident tuition rates in Virginia, especially for graduate and professional study. Potential concerns likely include the fiscal effect on public colleges and universities, the precedent of expanding domicile exceptions, and whether the mandatory undergraduate benefit should also extend to advanced degree programs. No specific stakeholder objections or endorsements are included in the provided context.