Bill Text: NJ A2978 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits four-year public institution of higher education from charging tuition to student who is spouse or dependent child of disabled veteran.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A2978 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2978-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Dunn
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits four-year public institution of higher education from charging tuition to student who is spouse or dependent child of disabled veteran.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning tuition-free enrollment in a four-year public institution of higher education for certain students and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No four-year public institution of higher education shall charge tuition to the spouse or dependent child of a disabled veteran provided that:
(1) the spouse or child has been accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution;
(2) the spouse or child has applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the spouse or child is eligible;
(3) the spouse or child has
applied for tuition benefits available through the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs for which the spouse or child is eligible under the
"Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008,"
Pub.L.110-252
(38 U.S.C. s.3301 et seq.); and
(4) available classroom space permits and tuition-paying students constitute the minimum number required for the course.
b. The State shall reimburse each institution of higher education for the costs of waiving tuition pursuant to the provisions of this act.
c. As used in this act: "disabled veteran" means a person who has served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable, and who has experienced a total and permanent disability as certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a consequence of military service.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits four-year public institutions of higher education from charging tuition to the spouse or dependent child of a disabled veteran. Under the bill, the spouse or dependent child of a disabled veteran is eligible to attend a four-year public institution of higher education tuition free provided that:
(1) the spouse or child has been accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution;
(2) the spouse or child has applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the spouse or child is eligible;
(3) the spouse or child has
applied for tuition benefits available through the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs for which the spouse or child is eligible under the
"Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008,"
Pub.L.110-252
(38 U.S.C. s.3301 et seq.); and
(4) available classroom space permits and tuition-paying students constitute the minimum number required for the course.
The bill directs the State to reimburse each institution of higher education for the costs of waiving tuition pursuant to the bill's provisions.
