HCS/SCS/SB 830 - This act shall be known as the "Missouri Returning Heroes' Education Act," and provides that all public institutions of higher education that receive any state funds appropriated by the general assembly shall limit the tuition charged to combat veterans to fifty dollars per credit hour, for any program leading to a certificate, or an associate or baccalaureate degree. A “combat veteran” is any person who served in armed combat after September 11, 2001, who was a Missouri resident when first entering the military, and who was discharged from military service under honorable conditions. An eligible combat veteran shall receive the tuition limitation as long as the veteran achieves and maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least two and one-half points on a four point scale, or its equivalent. The eligibility period for the tuition limitation shall expire ten years from the date of the veteran's last discharge from service.
The Coordinating Board for Higher Education shall ensure that the institutions comply with the provisions of this act, and the board may promulgate any rules for the efficient implementation of the act. Any other financial assistance for which the veteran is eligible must be reported to the board, and no combat veteran shall receive more than the actual cost of attendance when the limitation is combined with any other financial assistance made available to such veteran.
Each institution may report to the board the amount of tuition waived in the previous fiscal year under this act, which may be included in each institution's request for appropriations to the board for the following year. The board may include information about the amount of tuition waived in the previous year in its appropriations recommendations to the governor and general assembly, and the general assembly may reimburse institutions for the cost of the waiver for the previous year as part of the operating budget. However, this shall not be construed to deny a combat veteran a tuition limitation if the general assembly does not appropriate money for reimbursement to an institution.
This act is similar to SCS/SB 75 (2007).
ALEXA PEARSON