SB 295

Present law requires higher education institutions owned, operated , and maintained by the state to admit at no cost a dependent child , 23 or younger , whose parent was killed as a direct result of injuries received , or has been officially reported as a prisoner of war or missing in action , while serving honorably as a member of the U.S. armed forces during a qualifying period of armed conflict or was formerly a prisoner of war or missing in action under such circumstances . T he spouse of s uch veteran also qualifies. This bill expands such admission to a dependent child of a parent who sustained a service-connected disability determined by the veteran's administration to constitute a 100% permanent total disability, or the spouse of such v eteran . To be eligible, this bill requires the dependent child or spouse to p resent official certification from the federal government that the parent or spouse veteran sustained, while serving honorably as a member of the U.S. armed forces during a quali fying period of armed conflict, a service-connected disability determined by the veteran's administration to constitute a 100% permanent total disability. Such veteran must be a citizen of this state at the time the person's dependent child or spouse appl ies for the educational assistance benefits . This bill provides that a veteran's spouse's eligibility terminates 10 years from the date on which the veteran's administration determined that the service-connected disability the veteran sustained constitut es 100% permanent total disability, or upon dissolution of the qualifying marriage. This bill applies to all state institutions of higher education beginning with the next registration or enrollment period for the next complete term after July 1, 2025.