SPONSOR: Phelps
This bill creates the "Missouri Disabled Veterans' Dependents Tuition Waiver" to provide college tuition waivers for the children, stepchildren, and spouses of certain veterans. The bill defines an "institution" as including any state college or university or public community college that receives appropriations from the General Assembly for operating expenses and satisfies certain other conditions established in current law.
A dependent of a veteran will be eligible to receive a waiver of tuition and fees at an institution, up to a maximum that will not exceed the amount of tuition charged to a Missouri resident at the University of Missouri-Columbia for attendance, if the dependent has a parent, stepparent, or spouse who is or was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who died while on active duty, died of a service-connected disability, died after discharge from the military as a result of injury or illness, is rated as permanently and totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or is classified as missing in action or a prisoner of war. For a dependent who is the child or stepchild of such a veteran, the bill specifies that the dependent must be under 26 years old unless the dependent serves on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States, in which case the eligibility period will be extended a maximum of five years, up to the dependent's 31st birthday.
The Missouri Veterans Commission must work with the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to implement the provisions of the bill. The Missouri Veterans Commission must ensure that the application process is accessible, transparent, and efficiently administered. The Executive Director of the Missouri Veterans Commission will establish application procedures, determine applicants' eligibility, certify approved applicants, establish procedures for fraud prevention, and oversee program compliance and reporting, as provided in the bill. The Executive Director must work with the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to facilitate communication with institutions, ensure proper implementation of the waivers, and maintain program efficiency. The Coordinating Board for Higher Education must ensure consistent implementation of the bill across all institutions, develop guidelines for institutions to process tuition waivers, and coordinate with the Missouri Veterans Commission to ensure seamless communication and prevent administrative delays for eligible applicants.
A tuition waiver will be valid for one degree, diploma, or certificate from a community college and one baccalaureate degree from a state college or university. Receipt of a degree, diploma, or certificate from a community college will precede receipt of a baccalaureate degree.
A recipient of a tuition waiver will be ineligible for the Wartime Veteran's Survivors Grant Program, the Survivors of Vietnam Veterans Scholarship Program, and any other state-funded veteran-dependent tuition grant, waiver, or scholarship. A student who has previously received any such grant, waiver, or scholarship will not be eligible to receive a tuition waiver, and a student must not concurrently receive a tuition waiver and any other such grant, waiver, or scholarship.
A recipient of a tuition waiver can transfer from one institution to another without losing entitlement to the tuition waiver. If a recipient is granted financial assistance under any other student aid program, whether public or private, the full amount of such financial assistance must be reported to the Missouri Veterans Commission by the institution and the recipient.
This bill is similar to SB 716 (2025).
Statutes affected: