80-411 Waiver of tuition at institutions of higher education; qualifications; application; Director of Veterans' Affairs; approval; effect; rules and regulations. - Nebraska Statutes

80-411. Waiver of tuition at institutions of higher education; qualifications; application; Director of Veterans' Affairs; approval; effect; rules and regulations.(1) The University of Nebraska, the state colleges, and the community colleges shall waive all tuition on behalf of a dependent of a veteran pursuant to this section. A person shall be eligible for the waiver if he or she meets the following requirements:(a) He or she is a resident of this state and meets the appropriate institution's requirements for establishing residency for the purpose of paying instate tuition;(b) He or she has a parent, stepparent, or spouse who was a member of the armed forces of the United States and who:(i) Died of a service-connected disability;(ii) Died subsequent to discharge as a result of injury or illness sustained while a member of the armed forces which may or may not have resulted in total disability;(iii) Is permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service. Permanent and total disability does not include total ratings or other temporary ratings except total ratings based on individual unemployability if permanent; or(iv) While a member of the armed forces of the United States, is classified as missing in action or as a prisoner of war during armed hostilities; and(c) If he or she is a child or stepchild of a person described in subdivision (1)(b) of this section, he or she is under the age of twenty-six years unless he or she serves on active duty with the armed forces after his or her eighteenth birthday but before his or her twenty-sixth birthday, in which case such period shall end five years after his or her first discharge or release from such duty with the armed forces, but in no event shall such period be extended beyond the thirty-first birthday.(2) An application for a waiver shall be submitted through one of the recognized veterans organizations or any county service officer on a form to be prescribed by the Director of Veterans' Affairs. The organization or county service officer shall thoroughly investigate to determine if the applicant is eligible for the waiver and transmit a recommendation for action on the application to the director.(3) If the director determines that the applicant is eligible for the waiver, the director shall so certify to the institution in which the applicant desires to enroll. The decision of the director shall, in the absence of fraud or misrepresentation on the part of the applicant, be final and shall be binding upon the applicant and upon the institutions specified in this section. The director shall adopt and promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for the administration of this section.(4) The waiver shall be valid for one degree, diploma, or certificate from a community college and one baccalaureate degree. Receipt of such degree, diploma, or certificate from a community college shall precede receipt of such baccalaureate degree. SourceLaws 1965, c. 576, § 1, p. 1867; Laws 1967, c. 564, § 1, p. 1858; Laws 1973, LB 307, § 1; Laws 1975, LB 90, § 4; Laws 1979, LB 80, § 114; Laws 1993, LB 74, § 1; Laws 1999, LB 227, § 2; Laws 2001, LB 368, § 3. Cross ReferencesEducational assistance for military personnel, see Chapter 80, article 9, and sections 85-505 to 85-508.