A.B. 397
- *AB397*
ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 397–ASSEMBLYMEMBER WATTS
MARCH 11, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to higher education.
(BDR 34-653)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to higher education; revising provisions governing
the waiver of fees by the Board of Regents of the
University of Nevada for certain persons who have
experienced homelessness; repealing certain provisions
requiring the Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher
Education to cause to be analyzed certain natural
materials upon the request of a resident of this State; and
providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law authorizes the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to 1
grant a waiver of registration fees and laboratory fees for a person who is identified 2
as a homeless or unaccompanied pupil. (NRS 396.5448). Section 1 of this bill 3
requires, rather than authorizes, the Board of Regents to grant the waiver and 4
revises the criteria that a person is required to meet to qualify for the waiver. 5
Specifically, section 1 requires that a person: (1) be 25 years of age or less when 6
the person enrolls in the Nevada System of Higher Education; (2) have experienced 7
homelessness for a period of not less than 6 months at any time after the person 8
attained the age of 12 years, but before attaining the age of 25 years; and (3) during 9
that period, have received services from certain agencies or organizations in this 10
State whose purpose is to provide services to young persons experiencing 11
homelessness. Section 1 requires a person who is seeking the waiver to complete 12
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and provides for the adjustment of the 13
amount of the waiver based on the amount of federal educational benefits the 14
person receives. Section 1 also limits the waiver to persons who are enrolled in an 15
undergraduate degree program at a school within the System. 16
Existing law authorizes the Board of Regents to request documentation from a 17
person requesting the waiver to verify that the person meets the criteria required to 18
qualify for the waiver. (NRS 396.5448) Section 1 requires, rather than authorizes, 19
the Board of Regents to request documentation to verify that the person has 20
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experienced homelessness for a period of not less than 6 months after attaining 12 21
years of age, but before attaining 25 years of age. Section 1 also requires the Board 22
of Regents to request certain documentation to verify that the person received 23
services from certain agencies or organizations based in this State while the person 24
was experiencing homelessness. 25
Existing law requires the Chancellor of the System to direct an appropriate 26
person employed by the System to analyze any ores, minerals, soil or water taken 27
from within the boundaries of this State which are sent to the Chancellor by any 28
resident of this State for the purpose of performing such an analysis. (NRS 29
396.620-396.660) Section 2 of this bill repeals this requirement. 30
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 396.5448 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
396.5448 1. The Board of Regents [may] shall grant a waiver 3
of the payment of registration fees , [and] laboratory fees and other 4
mandatory fees that are assessed each semester for a person who 5
[is identified as a homeless or unaccompanied pupil. For the purpose 6
of assessing fees and charges against a person to whom such a 7
waiver is granted, including, without limitation, tuition charges 8
pursuant to NRS 396.540, the person shall be deemed to be a bona 9
fide resident of this State.] : 10
(a) Is 25 years of age or less on the date on which the person 11
enrolls in the System; 12
(b) Is enrolled in the System as a full-time or part-time 13
undergraduate student; 14
(c) Has completed the Free Application for Federal Student 15
Aid provided for by 20 U.S.C. § 1090 each year that the person: 16
(1) Seeks a waiver pursuant to this section; and 17
(2) Is eligible to receive federal student aid pursuant to 20 18
U.S.C. § 1091; 19
(d) Has experienced homelessness for a period of not less than 20
6 months at any time after the person attained the age of 12 years, 21
but before the person attained the age of 25 years; and 22
(e) While the person was experiencing homelessness, received 23
services from: 24
(1) A public agency or organization that provides services 25
to persons experiencing homelessness in this State; or 26
(2) A nonprofit or community-based organization: 27
(I) That is based in this State; 28
(II) Whose purpose is to provide services for young 29
persons experiencing homelessness; and 30
(III) That receives funding from the State, a political 31
subdivision of the State or the Federal Government for the specific 32
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purpose of enabling the organization to provide support to such 1
persons. 2
2. A person is eligible for a waiver pursuant to subsection 1 if 3
the person maintains at least a 2.0 grade point average, on a 4.0 4
grading scale, each semester or the equivalent of a 2.0 grade point 5
average if a different scale is used. 6
3. [A person may use a waiver granted pursuant to subsection 1 7
for 10 years after the person attains the age of 18 years or, if the 8
person enrolls in the System before the age of 18 years, for 10 years 9
after the date of such enrollment.] For the purpose of assessing fees 10
and charges against a person to whom a waiver is granted 11
pursuant to subsection 1, including, without limitation, tuition 12
charges assessed pursuant to NRS 396.540, the person shall be 13
deemed to be a bona fide resident of this State. 14
4. The Board of Regents [may] shall request documentation 15
from a person requesting a waiver pursuant to subsection 1 [as it 16
deems necessary] to verify that such a person [was a homeless or 17
unaccompanied pupil. 18
5. As used in this section: 19
(a) “Homeless pupil” has the meaning ascribed to the term 20
“homeless children and youths” in 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2). 21
(b) “Unaccompanied pupil” has the meaning ascribed to the 22
term “unaccompanied youth” in 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(6).] has: 23
(a) Experienced homelessness for a period of not less than 6 24
months after attaining 12 years of age and before attaining 25 25
years of age, except that a person who provides documentation 26
which meets the standards under 20 U.S.C. § 1087uu-2(a) and 27
related federal regulations shall not be required to submit any 28
additional documentation for this purpose; and 29
(b) Received services from an agency or organization 30
described in paragraph (e) of subsection 1. 31
5. The documentation required pursuant to paragraph (b) of 32
subsection 4 must be in the form of a signed statement from the 33
director of an agency or organization described in paragraph (e) 34
of subsection 1, or the designee of the director of such an agency 35
or organization, from which the person received services. The 36
statement must: 37
(a) Affirm that the person received services from the agency or 38
organization; 39
(b) Indicate the periods of time during which the person 40
received services from the agency or organization; and 41
(c) Attest that the agency or organization meets the criteria 42
described in paragraph (e) of subsection 1. 43
6. The amount of any waiver granted pursuant to subsection 44
1 must be equal to: 45
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(a) If the person is entitled to receive any federal educational 1
benefits for a semester, the balance of registration fees, laboratory 2
fees and any other mandatory fees assessed against the person that 3
remain unpaid after the person’s account has been credited with 4
the full amount of the federal educational benefits to which the 5
person is entitled for that semester; or 6
(b) If the person is not entitled to receive any federal 7
educational benefits for a semester, the full amount of the 8
registration fees, laboratory fees and any other mandatory fees 9
assessed against the person for that semester. 10
7. As used in this section, “person who has experienced 11
homelessness” has the meaning ascribed to the term “homeless 12
person” in 42 U.S.C. § 11302. 13
Sec. 2. NRS 396.620, 396.630, 396.640, 396.650 and 396.660 14
are hereby repealed. 15
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 16
LEADLINES OF REPEALED SECTIONS
396.620 Analyses of ores, minerals, soil and water:
Submission of samples by residents of this State; fee;
maintenance of records and samples.
396.630 Assay to be run when same material sent from
same district.
396.640 Analyses of samples in order received.
396.650 Limitations on number of samples and quantitative
analyses.
396.660 Purpose and applicability of NRS 396.620 to
396.660, inclusive.
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