Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits four-year public institution of higher education from charging tuition and fees to student who is spouse of disabled veteran.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning costs of enrollment in a four-year public institution of higher education for certain students and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No four-year public institution of higher education shall charge tuition or fees to the spouse of a disabled veteran provided that the spouse has:
(1) been accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution;
(2) applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the spouse is eligible; and
(3) applied for tuition benefits available through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for which the spouse is eligible under the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008," Pub.L.110-252 (38 U.S.C. s.3301 et seq.).
b. The State shall reimburse each institution of higher education for the costs of waiving tuition and fees pursuant to the provisions of this act.
c. As used in this act, “disabled veteran” means a person who has served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable, and who has experienced a total and permanent disability as certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a consequence of military service.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits four-year public institutions of higher education from charging tuition or fees to the spouse of a disabled veteran. Under the bill, the spouse of a disabled veteran is eligible to attend a four-year public institution of higher education tuition-free and fee-free provided that the spouse:
(1) has been accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution;
(2) has applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the spouse is eligible; and
(3) has applied for certain tuition benefits available through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
The bill directs the State to reimburse each institution of higher education for the costs of waiving tuition and fees pursuant to the bill’s provisions.