Sponsors (4)
The bill conditions federal higher-education funding on states restricting in‑state tuition to lawfully present residents—protecting funding and accountability for compliant states and taxpayers, but reducing access for undocumented students and risking funding losses, shifted costs, and legal/compliance burdens for institutions and states.
Taxpayers and public higher-education institutions: States that limit in‑state tuition to lawfully present residents are less likely to trigger federal penalties, helping preserve federal grant funding that supports colleges and reduces pressure on taxpayer-funded backstops.
State governments and lawful-resident students: The bill creates stronger political and accountability incentives for states to maintain residency-based tuition rules favoring lawfully present residents.
Public colleges, students, and taxpayers: Institutions that serve undocumented students could lose federal grants or other federal higher‑education funding for a fiscal year, jeopardizing services, increasing costs, and shifting more spending pressure to state budgets and taxpayers.
Undocumented students: The bill removes or restricts access to in‑state tuition rates and state financial aid for undocumented students, making college less affordable or effectively unattainable for this group.
Colleges and states: The bill creates enforcement uncertainty and compliance burdens because determinations by the Secretary and cross-referenced definitions could prompt legal challenges, administrative costs, and uneven application across institutions and states.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 26, 2025 by Nancy Mace · Last progress March 26, 2025
Conditions federal higher-education funding on state and campus practices toward undocumented students by making public colleges and universities ineligible for federal financial assistance if they charge undocumented students the same in‑state tuition as lawful residents or provide state-based financial aid to them. The Education Secretary would identify ineligible institutions, and any institution so identified would lose federal assistance for the fiscal year after the determination.