AB 7

This bill modifies the residency requirement for the tuition and fee remission

program for certain veterans and their spouses and children enrolled in University

of Wisconsin System schools and technical colleges.

Under current law, if certain criteria are met, veterans and their spouses and

17- to 25-year-old children are eligible for full remission of tuition and fees at UW

System schools and technical colleges for up to eight semesters or 128 credits,

whichever is longer. Under the veterans fee remission program, the veteran must

be a resident of this state when he or she entered military service or be a resident of

this state for at least five consecutive years immediately before the veteran registers

at a UW System school or technical college. Under the fee remission program for the

spouse or child of a veteran who suffered service-connected death or disability, the

veteran must have been a resident of this state when he or she entered military

service or one of the following must apply: 1) if the veteran, 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, the veteran

must have resided in this state for at least five consecutive years while an adult, or

2) if the veteran received at least a 30 percent service-connected disability rating,

the veteran must have resided in this state for at least five consecutive years

immediately before the veteran's spouse or child registers at a UW System school or

technical college. In addition, if a veteran was not a resident of this state when he

or she entered military service, the veteran's spouse or child is eligible for tuition and

fee remission only if the spouse or child has resided in this state for at least five

consecutive years immediately before the spouse's or child's enrollment in a UW

System school or technical college.

This bill eliminates the five-year durational residency requirement for

veterans and their spouses and children under the tuition and fee remission program

under circumstances in which the veteran was not a resident of this state when he

or she entered military service. Under the bill, if the veteran was not a resident of

this state when he or she entered military service, the veteran is still eligible for the

tuition and fee remission program if the veteran is a resident of this state

immediately before the veteran registers at a UW System school or technical college.

Also under the bill, if the veteran was not a resident of this state when he or she

entered military service, the veteran's spouse and children are still eligible for the

tuition and fee remission program if the spouse or child resided in this state

immediately before the spouse or child registers at a UW System school or technical

college and if the veteran, as described in 1), above, resided in this state at any time

while an adult or the veteran, as described in 2), above, resided in this state

immediately before the veteran's spouse or child registers at a UW System school or

technical college. If the applicable requirements for fee remission are met, the

veteran or the veteran's spouse or child is eligible for fee remission regardless of