Section 173.234

Title XI EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES

Chapter 173

Effective - 28 Aug 2008, 5 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  173.234.  Definitions — grants to be awarded, when, duration — duties of the board — rulemaking authority — eligibility criteria — sunset provision. — 1. As used in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms mean:

  (1) "Board", the coordinating board for higher education;

  (2) "Books", any books required for any course for which tuition was paid by a grant awarded under this section;

  (3) "Grant", the war veteran's survivors grant as established in this section;

  (4) "Institution of postsecondary education", any approved Missouri public institution of postsecondary education, as defined in section 173.205*;

  (5) "Survivor", a child or spouse of a war veteran;

  (6) "Tuition", any tuition or incidental fee, or both, charged by an institution of postsecondary education for attendance at the institution by a student as a resident of this state. The tuition grant shall not exceed the amount of tuition charged a Missouri resident at the University of Missouri-Columbia for attendance;

  (7) "War veteran", a person who served in armed combat in the military and to whom the following criteria shall apply:

  (a) The veteran was a Missouri resident when first entering the military service and at the time of death or injury; and

  (b) The veteran dies as a result of combat action or the veteran's death was certified by a Veterans' Administration medical authority to be attributable to an illness that was contracted while serving in combat, or who became eighty percent disabled as a result of injuries or accidents sustained in combat action.

  2. Within the limits of the amounts appropriated therefor, the coordinating board for higher education shall award annually up to twenty-five grants to survivors of war veterans to attend institutions of postsecondary education in this state, which shall continue to be awarded annually to eligible recipients as long as the recipient achieves and maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least two and one-half on a four-point scale, or its equivalent. If the waiting list of eligible survivors exceeds fifty, the coordinating board may petition the general assembly to expand the quota. If the quota is not expanded, then the eligibility of survivors on the waiting list shall be extended.

  3. A survivor may receive a grant under this section only so long as the survivor is enrolled in a program leading to a certificate, or an associate or baccalaureate degree. In no event shall a survivor receive a grant beyond the completion of the first baccalaureate degree, regardless of age.

  4. The coordinating board for higher education shall:

  (1) Promulgate all necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this section; and

  (2) Provide the forms and determine the procedures necessary for a survivor to apply for and receive a grant under this section.

  5. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, RSMo, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section 536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2008, shall be invalid and void.

  6. In order to be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a survivor shall be certified as eligible by the Missouri veterans' commission. In the case of an illness-related death, such certification shall be made upon qualified medical certification by a Veterans' Administration medical authority that the illness was both a direct result of the veteran's combat service and a substantial factor in the cause of the resulting death of the veteran.

  7. A survivor who is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment as an undergraduate postsecondary student at an approved institution of postsecondary education, and who is selected to receive a grant under this section, shall receive the following:

  (1) An amount not to exceed the actual tuition charged at the approved institution of postsecondary education where the survivor is enrolled or accepted for enrollment;

  (2) An allowance of up to two thousand dollars per semester for room and board; and

  (3) The actual cost of books, up to a maximum of five hundred dollars per semester.

  8. A survivor who is a recipient of a grant may transfer from one approved public institution of postsecondary education to another without losing his or her entitlement under this section. The board shall make necessary adjustments in the amount of the grant. If a grant recipient at any time withdraws from the institution of postsecondary education so that under the rules and regulations of that institution he or she is entitled to a refund of any tuition, fees, room and board, books, or other charges, the institution shall pay the portion of the refund to which he or she is entitled attributable to the grant for that semester or similar grading period to the board.

  9. If a survivor is granted financial assistance under any other student aid program, public or private, the full amount of such aid shall be reported to the board by the institution and the eligible survivor.

  10. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a promise or guarantee that a person will be admitted to an institution of postsecondary education or to a particular institution of postsecondary education, will be allowed to continue to attend an institution of postsecondary education after having been admitted, or will be graduated from an institution of postsecondary education.

  11. The benefits conferred by this section shall be available to any academically qualified surviving spouse or children of war veterans. Surviving children who are eligible shall be permitted to apply for full benefits conferred by this section until they reach twenty-five years of age.

  12. Pursuant to section 23.253, RSMo, of the Missouri sunset act:

  (1) The provisions of the new program authorized under this section shall sunset automatically six years after August 28, 2008, unless reauthorized by an act of the general assembly; and

  (2) If such program is reauthorized, the program authorized under this section shall sunset automatically twelve years after the effective date of the reauthorization of this section; and

  (3) This section shall terminate on September first of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the program authorized under this section is sunset.

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(L. 2008 H.B. 1678)

Sunset date 8-28-14, unless reauthorized.

Termination date 9-01-15, unless reauthorized.

*Section 173.205 was repealed by S.B. 389, 2007.