§ 23-7-112. Tuition Classification for Members of American Indian Tribes With Historical Ties to Colorado – Legislative Declaration

1. 1. The general assembly finds and declares that:
      1. Often due to circumstances beyond their control, many American Indian tribes and members of American Indian tribes have been forced to relocate across state lines, far from their historical home places. As a consequence, American Indian high school students often only receive in-state tuition eligibility in their state of current residence rather than the state their tribes traditionally called their ancestral home.
      2. Colorado includes the ancestral home places of at least forty-eight American Indian tribes;
      3. According to the United States census bureau current population survey, in 2016, only approximately nineteen percent of college-aged American Indian tribe members were enrolled in college, compared to approximately forty-one percent of the total college-aged population, the lowest percentage of all race and ethnicity groups surveyed; and
      4. Further, in 2016, over twenty-six percent of American Indian people lived in poverty, the highest rate of any race group surveyed, with thirty-three percent of American Indian children under eighteen years of age living in poverty.
   2. Therefore, the general assembly declares that Colorado public universities and colleges should extend in-state tuition classification to American Indian students who are registered members of a federally recognized American Indian tribe with historical ties to Colorado.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article 7 to the contrary, beginning with the 2021-22 academic year, the governing board of each institution shall adopt a policy to grant in-state tuition classification to a student who is a registered member of a federally recognized American Indian tribe with historical ties to Colorado, as designated by the Colorado commission of Indian affairs, established pursuant to article 44 of title 24, in partnership with history Colorado.
3. Beginning with the fall semester of the 2021-22 academic year, a student classified as an in-state student pursuant to this section:
   1. May be counted as a resident student for any purpose pursuant to this article 7;
   2. May be counted as a resident student for purposes of section 23-1-113.5; and
   3. Is eligible to participate in the college opportunity fund stipend pursuant to part 2 of article 18 of this title 23 and state-funded student financial assistance programs pursuant to article 3.3 of this title 23, and may be eligible for private financial aid programs.
4. This section does not apply to Fort Lewis college due to its historic commitment to American Indian education. Furthermore, nothing in this section modifies or affects the American Indian pupil tuition waiver pursuant to section 23-52-105 (1)(b)(I).

Source: L. 2021: Entire section added, (SB 21-029), ch. 369, p. 2434, § 2, effective June 28.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 21-029, see section 1 of chapter 369, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.