House Bill 1313 would waive tuition and other financial burdens facing students who are in the state’s foster care system and would like to enroll in post-secondary education. Students can qualify if they are between 14 and 26 years old, and advocates say it would be transformative in opening doors for these underserved youth and young adults. Scentrellis Dixon of Tupelo is in Mississippi’s foster care system and wants to go to Jackson State University. He says the tuition grants he applied for were unsuccessful but hopes this bill can make that dream of higher education a reality.
“A lot of us foster youths, we get told that we can’t go to college whether it be for things like money, or that they don’t think that we’re responsible enough. And personally, I believe that with this tuition waiver being in effect, that will take away a lot of the worry and concern people have about foster kids going to college.”
According to the advocacy group First Place for Youth, only 2% of students in the foster care system attend college or university due to the large cost and little access to financial aid. Andrea Sanders is Commissioner of Mississippi Child Protective Services. She says this bill would empower students to get higher education and begin their careers on a more stable financial foundation.
“These are Mississippi’s kids. Even after they age out of our custody, they are our responsibility as a state. You know, I think we owe them what parents owe them. Let’s help them get up. Let’s clear a path for them. And let’s give them the opportunity to really contribute and lead a successful life.”
House lawmakers passed the bill unanimously. And before final passage of the measure, an amendment renamed the bill after Representative Bill Kinkade, who was raised in the state’s foster care system.
