MS SB2894

Waives tuition and required fees at Mississippi state institutions of higher learning and public community and junior colleges for children and unremarried spouses of deceased veterans killed in the line of duty or honorably discharged veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at least 70% disabling by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year.

Eligible children must not exceed age 23 on the first day of enrollment, with an exception for those who began earning academic credit before age 23 but had their education interrupted; spouses are limited to receiving waivers within 10 years of the qualifying event.

Waivers cover actual tuition and required fees only (excluding housing, books, food, and extracurricular costs) and are reduced by any federal educational assistance grants received; full-time students may receive up to four annual waivers (or five for five-year degree programs), while part-time students receive waivers for the length of their program.

Students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 grade point average and make steady academic progress toward a degree or certificate to renew waivers; students with a baccalaureate degree are ineligible, and those with an associate degree may only receive waivers for baccalaureate programs.

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning serves as the administering agency and shall jointly promulgate rules with the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges; if appropriated funding is insufficient, waivers are granted to first-time students on a first-come, first-served basis with priority to continuing eligible students making steady progress.