HB 2722 Missouri House · 2026 Regular Session

Establishes the "Success for Homeless and Foster Youth in Higher Education Act"

HB 2722 establishes a dedicated liaison position within Missouri's Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development to support homeless students pursuing postsecondary education. The bill creates a dedicated fund to finance this role and requires the liaison to develop databases tracking homeless students' graduation and retention rates, connect students to campus resources like housing and food banks, and collaborate with high schools and colleges. It directly affects homeless students in Missouri colleges by creating a centralized point of contact to address barriers like housing instability and access to support services. The liaison must be nonpartisan, independent of other homeless service providers, and focus exclusively on this role to improve educational outcomes for this population.

Issues: ✓ Education ✓ Housing

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 6, 2026 Last action Apr 21, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → House Committee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to broaden its focus from exclusively 'homeless pupils' to include both 'homeless youth' and 'foster youth' in Missouri's higher education system. The new version establishes a specific act titled the 'Success for Homeless and Foster Youth in Higher Education Act' and creates a dedicated fund to support these students. Key changes include redefining eligible students to explicitly cover foster care recipients, shifting the appointment of liaisons from the Governor to individual colleges, and adding new provisions to help students with financial aid eligibility and housing priority.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from targeting only homeless students to also including foster youth, and the responsibility for liaisons shifted from a single state-level appointment to a decentralized model where individual institutions designate their own staff.

DEFINITION

The term 'homeless pupils' was replaced with 'homeless youth' and 'foster youth', and a new definition was added for foster youth to include those in care for six of the last 72 months before their 18th birthday.

REQUIREMENT

New provisions require institutions to help eligible students apply for federal financial aid by clarifying their independent student status and granting resident tuition status to homeless and foster students under 20.

Colleges and universities are now required to create a plan to assist homeless and foster youth with housing options and may give them first priority for campus housing placement.

The appointment of liaisons changed from being appointed by the Governor for a four-year term to being designated by individual public and private institutions of higher education.

FISCAL

A new dedicated fund was created in the state treasury to support the implementation of these expanded provisions for homeless and foster youth.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Do Pass (H) - AYES: 11 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0

lower

Apr 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Voted Do Pass (H)

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Committee

Referred: Rules - Administrative(H)

lower

Apr 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

HCS Reported Do Pass (H) - AYES: 13 NOES: 2 PRESENT: 0

lower

Apr 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

HCS Voted Do Pass (H)

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education(H)

lower

Jan 6, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled (H)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors