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. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
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.
Anderson said the idea for the program was inspired by Native American students' high school graduation rates, which plummeted to 64 percent during the pandemic.
While Native American students' graduation rate reached 75 percent in 2025, it's still 10 percentage points under the statewide rate. Anderson said she's hopeful that the gap will become more narrow as the program continues.
John Oceguera, a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and the first Native American to serve as Assembly speaker in Nevada's history, said the waiver has been crucial for improving college access and equity for Native American students, and has even motivated older adults to go college to get a degree for the first time or return for a more advanced degree.
"The university system is basically on land grant," Oceguera, now a lobbyist, said. "They are sitting on land that was traditionally these tribes' land that was taken from them, and I think it's only fair that these students are able to go to those institutions and be given that opportunity to get an education."
The waiver covers the full tuition and fee costs for certain Native American students who are members or descendants of members of federally recognized tribes, regardless of what level of education or degree type they are pursuing or program they are enrolled in, such as medical school.