University of Virginia Library

REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE UPON PROPOSED CHANGE IN
REGULATION FOR ADMISSION AS A VIRGINIA STUDENT

The act of the General Assembly adopted March 27, 1936 limiting and defining the powers
of the Board upon this subject is as follows.

The present regulation adopted by the Board of Visitors June 15, 1925 is as follows

"Registration as Virginia Student. — In order to be considered a Virginia student,
it is necessary that the applicant's parents be domiciled in the State if he be

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"under twenty-one years of age; or if he has attained his majority, that he himself be
domiciled in the State; and that either his parents or the applicant for admission shall
have been a bona fide taxpayer in the State of Virginia for at least two years prior to
said application."

A new regulation suggested for adoption by Professor Charles P. Nash of the Law Faculty
is as follows:

The changes effected by the suggested regulation are as follows

(1) Elimination of requirement that the applicant or his parents be taxpayers in the State
of Virginia.

(2) Elimination of any reference to the domicile of the applicant's parents.

(3) Elimination of any confusion as to the period of domicile necessary by definitely
fixing a one year period.

A letter of Professor Nash, dated October 31, 1949, addressed to the Rector is attached to
this report.

As to number (1) -

This committee concurs in the opinion of Professor Nash that the tax requirement of the
present regulation is of doubtful legality and should be omitted as a requirement for admission as
a Virginia student.

As to number (2) -

The committee is further of the opinion that the requirement that the applicant's parents
be domiciled in Virginia should be eliminated.

As a general rule the domicile of an infant follows that of his parents. It is recognized
that complications may arise where there is a divorce situation, orphanage or the like. There are
numerous cases involving such situations which will supply reasonable guidance for a fair and lawful
determination of the student's domicile in such situations which doubtless would be more satisfactory
than could be attained by any regulation which we might propose.

It is also to be noted that the act of the Assembly requires only, "that such person (the
applicant) has been" domiciled in Virginia "for a period of at least one year etc." The requirement,
therefore, by regulation of the Board, that both parents be domiciled in Virginia is of doubtful
legality except in so far as the domicile of the parents controls the domicile of a minor child.

As to number (3) -

Your committee is of the opinion that the domicile period should be definitely fixed in
any regulation adopted by the Board on this subject. The present situation of confusion results
from a failure to specify a definite minimum residence period and the additional requirement that
the parents or the applicant be taxpayers for a period of two years.

Your committee believes that since the act of the General Assembly requires only domicile
for one year that the Board should require in its regulation only a one year domicile period unless
there are substantial reasons for requiring a longer period of domicile. Your committee knows of
no such reasons and, therefore, recommends this change.

For the reasons above stated your committee recommends the adoption of the new regulation
as suggested by Professor Nash.