Engrossed Senate Bill 1223 - Oklahoma 9/11 G.I. Bill Summary

• Creates the "Oklahoma 9/11 G.I. Bill" providing tuition and fee waivers at state-supported technology centers and higher education institutions for eligible disabled veterans and their dependents

• Expands eligibility to 100-percent-disabled veterans whose service-related injuries occurred after September 11, 2001, plus their spouses and children, and surviving spouses and children of service members killed in action after that date

• Requires veterans to provide proof of disability status from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and that Oklahoma was their home of record; dependent children must enroll before age 21 with benefits extending until age 26

• Modifies existing statute to grant in-state tuition status to Post-9/11 G.I. Bill-eligible veterans and requires exhaustion of all available federal education benefits before state tuition waivers apply

• Becomes effective July 1, 2014, with emergency clause providing immediate effect upon passage and approval