What States Require Parents to Pay for College?

Roughly fifteen states authorize family courts to order a divorced or separated parent to help pay for an adult child’s college education; in every other state, no judge can compel you to cover tuition once your child turns 18. The question of what states require parents to pay for college really only has teeth in a family court setting, and even in those states an order is never automatic. Married parents who stay together are never under this obligation anywhere in the country.

The Default Rule Across Most States

In most states, a parent’s legal duty to provide financial support ends at the age of majority, which is 18 almost everywhere. At that point, the child is legally an adult and any existing child support obligation terminates. Higher education is treated as an adult pursuit rather than a basic necessity owed by parents.

So whether you’re married, divorced, or never married, in most of the country no court can order you to pay for your adult child’s college. Parents who do pay are doing so voluntarily. The exceptions live only in states that have passed specific statutes or developed case law extending support obligations into early adulthood for educational purposes.

States Where Courts Can Order College Support

The following states have statutes or established case law allowing judges to order divorced or separated parents to pay some share of post-secondary education costs. The authority sits almost entirely in family law proceedings, built around the idea that children of divorced families should not lose educational opportunities they would have had if their parents stayed together.

Colorado
Connecticut
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Massachusetts
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Washington

Some of these states have detailed statutes spelling out what courts can order. Others rely on case law interpreting broader child support provisions. New Jersey has no specific college-support statute but established judicial authority through Newburgh v. Arrigo, which set out twelve factors for evaluating college support claims.¹ South Carolina similarly relies on case law, with courts treating college expenses as an “exceptional circumstance” warranting continued support under the general child support statute.²

A handful of additional states, including Maryland, Mississippi, and Utah, appear on some lists, but the authority is less clear-cut. Courts there may have limited discretion to factor college expenses into support calculations without a standalone statute authorizing it.

States That Recently Dropped Off the List

This area shifts more than people realize. Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that courts no longer have authority to order post-secondary educational support, overturning decades of precedent.³ Iowa went further: the 2026 Iowa Code now explicitly prohibits courts from ordering either parent to pay a post-secondary education subsidy, whether in a temporary order or a final decree.⁴ If you’re relying on older information that lists either state, it’s outdated.

The constitutional argument that drove some of these changes hasn’t disappeared. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s college support statute in 1995 on equal protection grounds, finding no rational basis for treating young adults differently based on their parents’ marital status. The legislature re-enacted the statute, and it remains on the books.⁵ The same question could surface again in any state with these laws.

Age Caps and Degree Limits

No state gives courts open-ended authority to fund a child’s education forever. Every state with college support laws imposes boundaries.

Most cap support somewhere between age 21 and 23. Connecticut allows orders for up to four full academic years, terminating no later than the child’s 23rd birthday.⁶ Illinois sets 23 as the default cutoff, with a possible extension to 25 for good cause.⁷ Washington uses 23 as its limit, with exceptions only for disabilities.⁸ Oregon is tighter, limiting support to children between 18 and 21 who are enrolled at least half-time and making satisfactory academic progress.⁹ New York’s child support obligation runs to 21 generally, with college expenses folded into that framework.

Nearly every state draws the line at undergraduate or vocational education. Connecticut explicitly excludes graduate or postgraduate study beyond a bachelor’s degree.⁶ Pennsylvania does the same, prohibiting courts from ordering support for post-college graduate educational costs.⁵ Law school and medical school are the student’s problem.

What Courts Weigh Before Ordering Support

An order is never automatic. A parent or the child must petition the court, and the judge weighs the family’s circumstances before deciding whether to order anything.

The financial picture of both parents sits front and center. Courts examine income, assets, earning potential, and existing obligations. A parent on a modest salary with other children to support will face a different order than one with substantial resources. The child’s own finances also matter: scholarships, grants, loans, and part-time earnings. Several states require the student to apply for financial aid before a parent can be ordered to pay anything. Pennsylvania’s statute requires the child to make reasonable efforts to apply for scholarships, grants, and work-study assistance as a prerequisite to any award.⁵

Courts also look at whether the child is suited to college. Academic aptitude, grades, and commitment factor in. Illinois requires the student to maintain at least a C average to keep receiving support; if grades fall below that, support ends unless illness or other good cause is shown.⁷ Washington requires the child to be in good academic standing and to share all academic records with both parents as a condition of receiving support.⁸

The standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the family had stayed together is another key factor. If both parents are college-educated professionals who always expected their children to attend university, that weighs toward ordering support. If college was never discussed or expected, a court is less likely to impose the obligation.

The parent-child relationship can matter too. A child who has cut off contact with a parent may have a harder time persuading a court to order that parent to pay tuition. New Jersey’s Newburgh factors specifically consider “the child’s relationship to the paying parent, including mutual affection and shared goals as well as responsiveness to parental advice and guidance.”¹ This is where contested cases get complicated, because post-divorce estrangement is common and courts have to decide whether it’s fair to order payments to a child who refuses a relationship with the paying parent.

What Expenses an Order Can Cover

Court-ordered support typically goes beyond tuition to cover the realistic costs of attending school. Categories vary, but most states include tuition and fees, room and board, textbooks and supplies, and sometimes health insurance and transportation.

Illinois has the most detailed breakdown: tuition, housing on or off campus, medical and dental expenses, reasonable living expenses during the school year and breaks, books, and supplies. Illinois also allows courts to order parents to pay for up to five college applications, two standardized entrance exams, and one test prep course.⁷ Pennsylvania’s statute covers tuition, fees, books, room, board, and “other educational materials.”⁵

Most states cap the amount at something close to the cost of a public in-state university, regardless of where the child enrolls. Illinois caps tuition and housing at the equivalent of what a student would pay at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including a standard double-occupancy room with a meal plan.⁷ If your child chooses a $60,000 private university, the court is likely to limit your share to what in-state public tuition would have cost.

Written Agreements Work Everywhere

Even in states where courts have no authority to order college support, parents can create a binding obligation through a written agreement. This usually happens in a divorce settlement, where one or both parents agree to fund college as part of the marital settlement or separation agreement. Once that commitment is in writing and incorporated into the divorce decree, it becomes an enforceable contract. The National Conference of State Legislatures confirms that in every state, parents can include college education terms in their child support agreement.³

Specificity matters. Vague promises to “help with college” invite later disputes. A well-drafted provision spells out which expenses are covered, whether there’s a dollar cap or a cap tied to a specific school’s tuition, how long the obligation lasts, and any conditions like maintaining a minimum GPA or attending full-time. If one parent later refuses to pay, the other can enforce the agreement as a breach of contract.

This path is worth taking seriously even in states that allow court-ordered support. Negotiating the terms during the divorce gives both parents more control over the details than leaving it to a judge years later, and it eliminates the uncertainty of whether a future court will grant or deny a petition.

Modifying or Ending a Support Order

College support orders aren’t permanent and aren’t immune to changing circumstances. If a parent experiences a significant financial setback such as job loss or serious illness, most states allow a petition for modification. The bar is generally a substantial and involuntary change in circumstances. Voluntarily quitting a job or reducing income won’t produce a reduction; courts can impute income based on earning capacity if the financial change looks intentional.

Support also terminates automatically under certain conditions in many states. Illinois ends the obligation if the child receives a bachelor’s degree, gets married, reaches 23, or drops below a C average without good cause.⁷ Washington automatically suspends support during any period when the child is not enrolled in an accredited program, is not actively pursuing their course of study, or is not in good academic standing.⁸

If you’re subject to a support order and your circumstances change, file for modification promptly. Obligations don’t adjust on their own. You owe what the current order says until a court changes it, even if your income has dropped sharply.

Related Issues Worth Knowing About

A court order doesn’t operate in isolation. Federal financial aid treats divorced families through its own lens: the FAFSA requires financial information from the parent who provided more financial support in the prior 12 months, and if that parent has remarried, the stepparent’s finances must also be reported regardless of any prenuptial agreement to the contrary. Child support and alimony received from the non-custodial parent must also be reported.

Where 529 college savings accounts exist, ownership controls. A 529 belongs to the account owner, not the child beneficiary. During divorce, courts may treat 529 accounts as marital property subject to division, or the parties may agree to designate the funds for the child’s education and restrict either parent from withdrawing or redirecting them. In states that allow court-ordered college support, judges will consider existing 529 balances when calculating any additional obligation.

On taxes, court-ordered college support payments get no special treatment for the paying parent and are not deductible. Parents paying tuition directly to a college can use the unlimited gift tax exclusion for qualified tuition under 26 U.S.C. § 2503(e): tuition paid directly to a qualifying educational institution is not treated as a taxable gift, regardless of amount.¹⁰ This covers only tuition itself; room, board, books, and other expenses are subject to the standard annual gift tax exclusion of $19,000 per recipient in 2026. Paying the school directly is generally cleaner than routing money through the other parent or the child.

1
Justia Law. Newburgh v. Arrigo
2
Justia Law. McLeod v. Starnes
3
National Conference of State Legislatures. Termination of Child Support
4
Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 2026, Section 598.21F
5
Pennsylvania General Assembly. 23 Pa. C.S. 4327 – Postsecondary Educational Costs
6
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-56c
7
Illinois General Assembly. 750 ILCS 5/513
8
Washington State Legislature. RCW 26.19.090 – Standards for Postsecondary Educational Support
9
Oregon Public Law. ORS 107.108 – Support or Maintenance for Child Attending School
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 2503 – Taxable Gifts