Oregon Tuition Waiver Paves Pathway to College for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

In February 2023 the Oregon State Legislature passed HB 4013, which extends tuition and fee waivers for higher education to youth who have experienced or are currently experiencing homelessness. Read on to learn more about this opportunity for our youth and how 15th Night helped to remove barriers to accessing the tuition waiver.

Access to higher education can be a game changer for youth experiencing homelessness and HB 4013 provides a pathway towards that opportunity. The passing of HB4013 was a huge win, and 15th Night wanted to ensure that this opportunity was widely promoted and remove any barriers for youth wanting to apply. Schools and service providers had a lot of questions and did not want to encourage youth to apply when there were so many unanswered questions.

The 15th Night team and  Donna Butera, McKinney-Vento liaison for Bethel School District, took on the challenge of creating a process for Lane County students and youth who qualified to be able to access the Oregon Tuition Waiver. After months of meetings, conversations and emails with the Oregon Department of Human Services, we were able to develop an informational packet about the waiver and create a simple process for applying.

15th Night distributed this information to all Lane County High School counseling offices, McKinney-Vento liaisons and our 15th Night Partner Network. Our partners can request support from 15th Night to help with the Oregon Tuition Waiver through the 15th Night Rapid Access Network (RAN).

The Oregon Tuition Waiver is available to any youth currently under the age of 25 who are currently experiencing homelessness or have experienced homelessness at any time between the ages of 14-24. To qualify youth must have received services from 15th Night or another applicable organization, completed their FAFSA form, and be currently enrolled in school. We hope that you will help to spread the word about this amazing opportunity for our youth. If you have any questions please reach out to info@15thnight.org.