AB 781

Current law requires the Board of Regents of the UW System (Board of

Regents) and each technical college district board (district board) to grant remission

of academic fees to certain veterans who are residents of this state for veterans

benefits purposes and to the spouse, unremarried surviving spouse, and children

(dependents) of a veteran who was a resident of this state at the time of entry into

service and who either: 1) while a resident of this state, died on active duty, died as

the result of a service-connected disability, or died in the line of duty while on active

or inactive duty for training purposes; or 2) incurred at least a 30 percent

service-connected disability rating. In the case of a veteran enrolled in the UW

System, "academic fees" includes nonresident tuition.

Current law requires the Board of Regents and each district board to grant full

remission of academic fees charged for up to 128 credits or eight semesters,

whichever is longer, less the amount of any academic fees paid under the federal

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Program, the federal Veterans Vocational

Rehabilitation Act, or the federal Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of

2008, commonly referred to as the "New GI Bill."

This bill requires the Board of Regents and each district board to grant full

remission of academic fees charged for 128 credits or eight semesters, whichever is

longer, less 50 percent of the number of credits or semesters for which the student

received educational assistance under the federal ROTC Program, the federal

Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Act, or the federal New GI Bill. As such, if a

student received 128 credits or eight semesters of educational assistance under those

federal programs, the bill permits the student to receive full remission of academic

fees charged for 64 credits or four semesters, whichever is longer.