(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), and as otherwise specially provided, an admission fee and rate of tuition fixed by the trustees shall be required of each nonresident student. The rate of tuition to be paid by each nonresident student, as defined in Section 68018, shall not be less than three hundred sixty dollars ($360) per year. The rate of tuition paid by each nonresident student who is a citizen and resident of a foreign country and not a citizen of the United States, except as otherwise specifically provided, shall be fixed by the trustees and shall not be less than three hundred sixty dollars ($360) per year.
(b) The trustees may waive entirely, or reduce below the rate, or the minimum rate, fixed by this section, the tuition fee of a nonresident student who is a citizen and resident of a foreign country and not a citizen of the United States and who attends a state university or college under an agreement entered into by a governmental agency or a nonprofit corporation or organization with a similar agency, or corporation or association, domiciled in and organized under laws of a foreign country, where a principal purpose of the agreement is to encourage the exchange of students with the view of enhancing international good will and understanding. The trustees shall, in each instance, determine whether the conditions for this exemption from fees exist and may prescribe appropriate procedures to be complied with in obtaining the exemption.
(c) The trustees shall waive entirely the admission fee and rate of tuition fixed under this section for a nonresident student who is a United States citizen who resides in a foreign country, if that nonresident meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Demonstrates a financial need for the exemption.
(2) Has a parent or guardian who has been deported or was permitted to depart voluntarily under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act in accordance with Section 1229c of Title 8 of the United States Code. The student shall provide documents from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services evidencing the deportation or voluntary departure of his or her parent or guardian.
(3) Moved abroad as a result of the deportation or voluntary departure specified in paragraph (2).
(4) Lived in California immediately before moving abroad. The student shall provide information and evidence that demonstrates the student previously lived in California.
(5) Attended a public or private secondary school, as described in Sections 52 and 53, in the state for three or more years. The student shall provide documents that demonstrate his or her secondary school attendance.
(6) Upon enrollment, will be in his or her first academic year as a matriculated student in California public higher education, as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66010, will be living in California, and will file an affidavit with the institution stating that he or she intends to establish residency in California as soon as possible.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 576, Sec. 3. (SB 141) Effective January 1, 2014.)