Nevada program waives college costs for Native American students. It’s facing a murky future.

Ronica Spute always wanted to go back to college to get her bachelor’s degree, but life kept getting in the way. Two years ago, her path was finally cleared thanks to a Nevada program that allows certain Native American students to attend college virtually for free. As a member of the Moapa Band of Paiutes, the waiver along with a scholarship from her tribe allowed Spute, 57, to pursue a criminal justice degree at UNLV and graduate in two years.

It was one year less than it took her to get an associate’s degree from the College of Southern Nevada when she could only afford to take a few classes at a time. “I don’t think I could have done it if I wasn’t able to go full time and dedicate every day to studying,” Spute said. “I didn’t have to worry about the finances.

All I had to worry about was comprehending.” Since the state’s Native American waiver program was established in 2021, it’s grown from about 170 recipients in its first year to nearly 700 recipients during the 2024-25 school year. “The fact that we have 700 people that have made the decision … to go to higher ed because of it just makes me so happy,” said Assm. Natha Anderson (D-Sparks), who sponsored the 2021 bill creating the program.

But the waiver’s success has raised the price tag for the program, which receives minimal state funding, to $3.9 million in the most recent school year. After the waiver’s eligibility was expanded in 2023 to cover more costs and include more students, including those from tribes outside Nevada, there were unsuccessful attempts in the 2025 legislative session to reduce what classes or programs the waiver could cover. A recent report by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities think tank raised concerns about the program’s financial sustainability, and recommends securing dedicated state funding to protect the waiver program’s future.

Addressing the funding is a legislative priority for the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents, which plans to request $13.4 million for it in the upcoming budget. Anderson, who is up for re-election, said she wants to work to find more money for higher education to not only fund this waiver program but hopefully prevent further tuition increases for all students. How the waiver program came about Anderson said the idea for the program was inspired by Native American students’ high school gra…