Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 21, 2015: AGO 2015-00288 (August 21, 2015)

Advisory Opinion Text

AUTH: Chuck Rubisoff

RQNM: Jennifer Rogers

SUBJ: Schools - Universities - Colleges - State Schools

SBCD: 173

TEXT: Jennifer Rogers

Director of Student Financial Aid

Director, Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board

3825 Ridgewood Road

Jackson, MS 39211-6453

Re: Request for Official Opinion/Residency Status of Certain Students for State Financial Aid

Dear Ms. Rogers,

Attorney General Jim Hood is in receipt of your opinion request and has assigned it to me for research and response.

Issue Presented

Your letter asks whether a contradiction exists between Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-103-7 (legal residence of minor students for purposes of attendance at universities and community colleges) and Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-103-11 (effect of removal of parents from state) when it comes to determining residency status of certain students for state financial aid purposes. Specifically, you ask whether or not a student maintains resident status and, therefore, continues to be eligible for state financial aid if the minor student attended all four years of high school in Mississippi but the student's parents move out of state either after the student's high school graduation or while the student is in college.

Discussion and Legal Analysis

The Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board (Board) is charged with implementing the State's financial aid programs found in the Post-Secondary Education Financial Assistance Law, Miss Code Ann. Sections 37-106-1, et seq . (Act). The definition section of this Act states:

"Resident, " "resident status" or "residency" shall be defined and determined in the same manner as resident status for tuition purposes as set forth in Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-29, with the exception of Section 37-103-17. Unless excepted by the rules of a given program, an applicant must be a Mississippi resident to qualify for financial assistance under this chapter. Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-106-5(1)(g).

For purposes of determining financial aid eligibility, the Board must refer to the Mississippi Code sections defining residence status for in-state tuition eligibility (Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-29). Regarding legal residence of minors, Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-103-7 states:

For purposes of determining whether a person pays out-of-state or in-state tuition for attendance at universities and community and junior colleges, the residence of a person less than twenty-one (21) years of age is that of the father, the mother or a general guardian duly appointed by a proper court in Mississippi. If a court has granted custody of the minor to one (1) parent, the residence of the minor is that of the parent who was granted custody by the court. If both parents are dead, the residence of the minor is that of the last surviving parent at the time of that parent's death, unless the minor lives with a general guardian duly appointed by a proper court of Mississippi, in which case his residence becomes that of the guardian. A student residing within the State of Mississippi who, upon registration at a Mississippi institution of higher learning or community college, presents a transcript demonstrating graduation from a Mississippi secondary school and who has been a secondary school student in Mississippi for not less than the final four (4) years of secondary school attendance shall not be required to pay out-of-state tuition . This section shall not apply to the residence of a person as it relates to residency for voter registration or voting. (emphasis added).

Section 37-103-11 of the Mississippi Code states:

If the parents of a minor who is enrolled as a student in a junior college or in an institution of higher learning move their legal residence from the State of Mississippi, the minor shall be immediately classified as a nonresident student.

Of significance is that Section 37-103-7 does not state that a student who graduates after attending a Mississippi high school for four years will be considered a resident. It states only that the student in such a situation "shall not be required to pay out-of-state tuition." Section 37-103-11 clearly states that if the parents of a minor student enrolled in a community college or university move their residence from this State, then the minor must be immediately classified as a nonresident student. When statutes deal with the same subject matter there must be applied the well-established rule that statutes in pari materia , although in apparent conflict, should, so far as reasonably possible, be construed in harmony with each other so as to give force and effect to each. Greaves v. Hinds County , 166 Miss. 89, 145 So. 900 (1933). See also Atwood Chevrolet-Olds, Inc. v. Aberdeen Municipal School District , 431 So.2d 926 (1983).

Conclusion

It is our opinion that a student in the position you describe would be a nonresident pursuant to Section 37-103-11 who would not be required to pay out-of-state tuition pursuant to Section 37-103-7. Unless excepted by the rules of a specific financial aid program, a student must be a Mississippi resident to qualify for financial assistance under the Act (see Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-106-5(1)(g)). Pursuant to Section 37-103-11, the minor student becomes a nonresident when the parents move their legal residence from the State of Mississippi. As a result, such student would not be eligible for State aid, unless the particular program allows nonresidents and residents alike to be eligible for the financial assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Chuck Rubisoff, Assistant Attorney General.