§ 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 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 the application as soon as 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 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.
History of Section.P.L. 2021, ch. 346, § 1, effective July 12, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 365, § 1, effective July 12, 2021.
Structure Rhode Island General Laws
Section 16-59-1. - Council on Postsecondary Education established.
Section 16-59-2. - Appointment of members of the council on postsecondary education.
Section 16-59-3. - Removal of public members of board.
Section 16-59-4. - Powers and duties of the council on postsecondary education.
Section 16-59-4.1. - Repealed.
Section 16-59-5. - Meetings of board.
Section 16-59-6. - Commissioner of postsecondary education.
Section 16-59-7. - [Repealed.]
Section 16-59-7.1. - Permanent status for non-classified employees.
Section 16-59-7.2. - Longevity payments — Nonclassified employees.
Section 16-59-9. - Educational budget and appropriations.
Section 16-59-9.2. - Military tuition waiver.
Section 16-59-9.3. - Student Success Act.
Section 16-59-10. - Existing academic privileges preserved.
Section 16-59-11. - Investigative powers of board.
Section 16-59-12. - Exemption from provisions of Administrative Procedures Act.
Section 16-59-13. - Definitions.
Section 16-59-14. - Pertinence of certain law relating to state colleges to board of governors.
Section 16-59-15. - Liberal construction of chapter required.
Section 16-59-16. - Meaning of terms in existing law.
Section 16-59-17. - Severability.
Section 16-59-18. - Receipts from sources other than appropriations.
Section 16-59-19. - Fiscal accounts — Receipts — Petty cash funds.
Section 16-59-20. - Audit of expenditures.
Section 16-59-21. - Freedom from budget and lease control by other agencies.
Section 16-59-23. - Conflicts of interest.
Section 16-59-24. - Accessibility for people with disabilities.
Section 16-59-25. - Voter registration forms.
Section 16-59-25.1. - Maintenance of voter registration files.
Section 16-59-26. - The public and private partnership in education.
Section 16-59-27. - Sale and purchase of degrees solely on the basis of life experience prohibited.