Brief Description: Changing veterans' tuition waiver provisions.

Sponsors: Representatives McCoy, Campbell, Morrell, Chase, Condotta, Hunt, Appleton, Hudgins, Armstrong, Hinkle, Conway, Lantz, Ormsby, Haigh and Upthegrove.

Hearing Date: 2/3/05

Staff: Sydney Forrester (786-7120).

Background:

Within certain limits, institutions may waive all or a portion of tuition and fees for eligible students. For these waivers, known as state-supported waivers, institutions receive general fund support to offset the tuition not collected from students as a result of granting the waivers. This authority to grant state-supported waivers is capped for each institution at a certain percentage of the total tuition revenue the institution collects. Within their respective percentage caps, each institution decides how to apportion its waiver authority among the various categories of state-supported permissive waivers. Institutions also have authority to waive tuition on a space-available basis for certain eligible persons. Student attendance under space-available waivers is not counted for budgetary purposes. In addition to state-supported waivers and space-available waivers, institutions also have authority to waive all or a portion of the tuition operating fee (not the building fee) for any student. These waivers are unsupported discretionary waivers for which the institution receives no state funding to make up for the foregone revenue.

Veteran-Related State-Supported Waiver Authority: State-supported permissive waiver authority includes the authority to waive all or a portion of tuition and fees for certain veterans. Three separate statutes currently provide permissive state-supported tuition waiver authority for veterans. One statute addresses children of veterans listed as missing in action or a prisoner of war.

• A veteran enrolled on or prior to October 1977 is eligible for a full or partial tuition waiver if he/she no longer is eligible for federal educational or vocational benefits. The Higher Education Coordinating Board reports no veterans currently qualify under this category.
• A veteran of the Vietnam conflict is eligible for a waiver of tuition increases that have occurred since October 1977, if he/she qualifies as a resident student for tuition purposes. For purposes of the waiver, a Vietnam veteran means anyone on active federal service in the armed forces during the period August 5, 1964 through May 7, 1975.
• A veteran of the Persian Gulf combat zone is eligible for a waiver of tuition increases that have occurred after the 1990-91 academic year, if he/she could have qualified as a resident student as of August 1990. For purposes of the waiver, a Persian Gulf veteran means anyone serving on active duty in the armed forces during any portion of 1991 in the Persian Gulf combat zone.
• Children of veterans listed as missing in action or a prisoner of war are eligible for a waiver of all or a portion of tuition and fees.

Veteran-related Space-Available Waiver Authority:

A veteran of the Korean Conflict is eligible for a waiver of all or a portion of tuition and fees. For purposes of the waiver, a veteran of the Korean Conflict means anyone who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States during any portion of the period beginning June 27, 1950, and ending January 31, 1955.

Summary of Bill:

Tuition waiver authority for all veterans is incorporated into one chapter and the various separate statutes are repealed. Existing permissive waivers are expanded to include the children and spouse, or surviving spouse, of veterans killed or totally disabled in action, or listed as missing in action, or a prisoner of war. The permissive waivers are created within the state-supported waiver percentage caps.

Definition of Eligible Veteran: For purposes of permissive tuition waivers created by the bill, an eligible veteran means an active duty or reserve military member or a national guard member called to active duty, whose permanent home state is Washington, and who served in active federal service in a war or conflict fought on foreign soil, or in international waters, or who served in support of those serving on foreign soil or in international waters.

Permissive Waivers: Within state-supported waiver authority, institutions of higher education may waive all or a portion of tuition and fees for:

• An eligible veteran totally disabled in the line of duty;
• The children and spouse of an eligible veteran totally disabled in the line of duty; and
• The children and surviving spouse of an eligible veteran killed in the line of duty, or who is listed as missing in action or a prisoner of war. Upon remarriage the surviving spouse is not eligible.

Also within state-supported waiver authority, institutions may waive all or a portion of tuition and fee increases that occur during the academic years in which an eligible veteran or national guard member is engaged in active federal service, if the veteran could have qualified as a resident student for tuition purposes had he/she been enrolled.

Private vocational schools and institutions of higher education are encouraged to provide waivers consistent with those provided by the public institutions.

Tuition Refund Options: Institutions of higher education must provide enrolled students activated to federal military service who are unable to complete the semester or quarter with the option of a full tuition refund or attendance at no charge for a comparable academic term upon re-enrollment

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on January 24, 2005.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.