Nevada regents vote to help students affected by shutdown

The Board of Regents on Friday voted unanimously to provide financial assistance to students impacted by the federal shutdown.

The resolution defers all registration fees and tuition for the spring 2019 semester until after the federal government re-opens and sends workers their back pay.

Students were required to pay their fees by Friday or face late charges. This vote lifts that burden from them until the end of the shutdown.

Gov. Steve Sisolak, a former member of the regents, earlier this week asked the board to give those students and their dependents who may be attending college a break. He attended the meeting and told the board he was concerned the missed paychecks just as spring enrollment got under way could force some of those workers to miss a semester of school and break the continuity of their education.

“We want to do everything we can to facilitate this and make it easier for the students,” he said.

In addition, Sisolak praised efforts across Nevada to aid those federal workers. He said that includes Chuck Brennan, founder of Dollar Loan Center, who sent a letter to the governor saying his company will offer interest-free loans up to $2,500 to federal workers impacted by the shutdown.