AB 853

This bill requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

to treat certain veterans and their family members as residents for purposes of

tuition. Under the bill, if a student is a covered individual, the Board of Regents must

treat the student as a resident for purposes of tuition. The bill's definition of “covered

individual” is based on federal law, which has three categories of “covered

individuals.” The bill uses the first and second categories, but makes a change to the

third category.

A student qualifies under the first category if he or she is a veteran who enrolls

in the UW System within three years of discharge from a period of active duty service

of 90 days or more. A student qualifies under the second category if he or she is a

veteran's spouse or child who uses certain federal benefits transferred by the veteran

and he or she enrolls in the UW System within three years of the veteran's discharge

from a period of active duty service of 90 days or more. A student qualifies under the

third category if he or she is a child or spouse of a U.S. armed forces service member

who dies in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001. Unlike the third category

under federal law, the bill does not require a student to enroll within three years of

the service member's death to qualify under the third category. Also, unlike federal

law, a student qualifies under the third category even if the service member served

less than 90 days of active duty.

If a student qualifies as a covered individual under one of the above categories,

the bill requires the Board of Regents to treat the student as a resident for purposes

of tuition as long as the student is continuously enrolled in the UW System or a

technical college with a break no longer than two regular terms.