General Column – Week of May 26, 2008
Veterans' Issues Among Top Priorities of 2008 Session
Tuition Breaks, Flags Honoring the Fallen, and Funding for Veterans’ Services Passed by Lawmakers
Jefferson City — As the nation celebrated Memorial Day this week — a holiday that honors military service men and women who lost their lives in the line of duty — lawmakers were able to count veterans’ issues as one success of the 2008 legislative session.
The Legislature passed several key measures relating to veterans and military personnel this year. First was a bill that honors fallen Missouri combat heroes by requiring all government buildings to fly the U.S. and Missouri flags at half-staff. Senate Bill 806 allows Missouri residents who are killed serving our country to be remembered by their loved ones, as well as acknowledged by the whole state.
Combat veterans will be able to pursue higher education without placing an extreme financial burden on themselves or their families. Senate Bill 830 establishes the “Missouri Returning Heroes’ Education Act,” which limits the amount of tuition that Missouri’s colleges and universities may charge to certain veterans to no more than $50 per credit hour for any program leading to a certificate, or an associate or bachelor’s degree.
Veterans are eligible for the tuition break who have served in armed combat after Sept. 11, 2001, were Missouri residents when first entering the military, and were discharged from military service under honorable conditions. For veterans to stay qualified for reduced tuition, they must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and use the benefit within 10 years of their last discharge from service.
Lawmakers also allocated $2.2 million to the Serving Our Veterans Program that provides mental health services to family members of veterans and transitional housing assistance to homeless veterans.
Legislation affecting military families was passed this session as well. House Bill 1678 contains several provisions relating to our service men and women, along with their spouses and children. The bill allows military families to make an easier transition if their service brings them to Missouri from other states. For example, HB 1678 exempts military dependents that have completed qualified pre-kindergarten or kindergarten programs in another state from meeting the Aug. 1 deadline and age requirements for entering kindergarten or first grade. The bill also allows the state board of education to develop recommendations for alternate assessments for military dependents that relocate to Missouri during the school year.
Military spouses who are employed as teachers and have relocated to Missouri within the last year will be issued a provisional teacher's certificate prior to the completion of a background check if they already hold a teacher's certificate in another state that requires a background check to achieve certification.
In addition, the measure allows the spouse or children of a soldier killed in action after Sept. 11, 2001, or who became 80 percent disabled as the result of an injury sustained in combat action after that date, to be eligible for educational grants for tuition at public or private colleges or universities in Missouri. The veteran must have been a Missouri resident when first entering military service — or at the time of death — in order for his or her survivors to receive the grant. The grant includes the cost of tuition (not to exceed in-state tuition at the University of Missouri-Columbia), $2,000 per semester for room and board and the actual cost of books up to $500 per semester. Children are eligible to receive the scholarship until age 25 and spouses until age 45.
Military parents are also shielded from child custody or visitation disputes under certain circumstances. The legislation protects military service men and women from any changes in child visitation or custody arrangements that may result from failing to comply with existing instructions — if the reason for their non-compliance is due to active military service and out-of-state deployment.
he governor’s signature enacts the above legislation into law. To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their Senate district, or watch video or listen to audio highlights of the Second Regular Session of the 94th Missouri General Assembly.
# # #
