SPONSOR: Chipman
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Higher Education by a vote of 6 to 2 with 1 present. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Administrative Oversight by a vote of 8 to 3.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 682.
Beginning July 1, 2022, this bill prohibits any public institution of higher education in this state from requiring students to live in campus housing except for first-time freshman. First-time freshman may be required to live in campus housing the first year of his or her attendance. The bill allows the University of Central Missouri, the University of Southeast Missouri State, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology to continue to have policies that require upperclassman to live on campus until after June 30, 2034.
This bill is similar to HB 1790 (2020) and HB 435 (2019).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that it is not clear that requiring students to live on campus is beneficial to their mental wellbeing or to their grades. This bill is about freedom of choice which should be extended to those young adults in regards to where they chose to live. This bill will level the playing field and allow the market to determine the proper rate for housing rather than forcing individuals to pay for something that they may not want.
Testifying for the bill were Representative Chipman; Associated Students of the University of Missouri; and Ashley Schmid.
OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that this bill will have a negative impact on student success rates. Each university currently establishes their own policy and these are not one size fits all policies. Statistics and current studies indicate that requiring students to stay on campus increases graduation rates.
Testifying against the bill were David Pearce, University of Central Missouri; University of Missouri System; Southwest Missouri State University; and the Council on Public Higher Education. Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: