There are many different states in the US that offer tuition assistance and education allowance to the dependents of veterans such as their spouse and children. Federal state education policy has been working for so long to make education affordable and accessible to all dependents of disabled veterans.
The policymakers work on the residence of veterans that is they provide state tuition accessibility to the dependents living in that particular state. In this way, they don’t have to leave their state to get an education.
In State Tuition for Veterans Dependents
Since the beginning of January 2016, the policymakers have made the policy for all states to provide tuition assistance to eligible dependents despite their living in different states. The ECS policy analysis provides assistance to state and leaders with a review of choice act requirements gives information about the deadlines, considerations for further evaluating the policies, etc.
States That Offer Free Tuition to Spouses & Dependents
The states that offer tuition assistance are discussed below:
Alabama in State Tuition
Alabama State offers education assistance to the dependents of disabled veterans that is equal to five academic years or 10 semesters at any well known and reputable institute of Alabama university. It also includes state technical colleges.
Alaska in State Tuition
University of Alaska anchorage undergraduate tuition and fees. Spouses and dependents may qualify for the in state tuition at the University of Alaska. If dependents qualify, then their tuition fee is also waived off from their academic institutes. To be eligible for this allowance there are certain requirements that must be met:
- Veteran have died while on duty
- Listed and qualified by VA department
- Killed while performing his action on duty
Arizona in State tuition
Arizona in state tuition program provides a waiver for the eligible dependents of disabled veterans. The waiver is for any community college or university o Alaska. To be eligible for this allowance, the dependent must be under the age of 30 and directly related to the disabled veteran. Also for eligibility, the dependent must be the resident of Arizona State. The veteran may have died while in the line of duty.
There is another requirement for in-state tuition of Arizona that the dependent must be accepted to the desired college or university by the policymakers.
Connecticut in State Tuition
Connecticut in-state tuition provides waivers to the dependents if they are going to any community college or the university of Connecticut. The eligibility is that the veteran must have been regarded as missing by the VA department while serving in the forces. The tuition waiver applies to all community colleges, technical colleges etc.
The waiver is only for tuition fees while the fee for residence, stationery etc. are not included in the waiver. The dependent has to pay for all other expenses.
Florida in State Tuition
The Florida state provides a financial reward to the dependent of veterans to help them and assist them with their education. This assistance provides admission to any eligible university and college in the State of Florida.
The dependent child must be between the ages of 18 to 22. The spouse of a disabled veteran must be a resident of Florida for at least one year.
Free college tuition for veterans dependents
If the veteran has a spouse, a son or daughter(natural or adopted), and the veteran has served honorably in any branch of the United States, then the dependents are eligible to get the education benefits of veteran affairs department. The dependents of disabled veterans are provided with free tuition waiver by the states to assist them with their studies. There are many states that provides these benefits and some are discussed above. Following are other scholarships from the state that provide in-state tuition to veterans.
Fry Scholarships
Fry scholarship is named for Marine Gunnery John David, and is a scholarship for children and spouse of disabled veterans. If the dependent’s parent was serving for the country and died on active duty, then the dependent may be eligible to get the benefits of this scholarship.
Eligibility of Scholarship
The dependent may get the fry scholarship if he is a children or a surviving spouse of an active duty member, who died in the line of duty after September, 2001. If the children applies for Fry scholarship then he must be
- married or unmarried
- turned 18 or graduated from school, the children can get the scholarship until they get the age of 33 years old
- the veteran had died in the line of duty while serving for his country
- if the children is already receiving dependency and indemnity pay, then he has to quit receiving that to get the Fry scholarship benefits
If the spouse of veteran want to apply for Fry scholarship then
- she must not remarry, if she remarries she will no longer be eligible for this scholarship
- she can get the dependency and indemnity pay as well as Fry scholarship at a time
What benefits the dependents can get?
The dependents of disabled veterans can get the benefits for up to 36 months of education benefits, including
- Money for the tuition of education (complete in-state tuition for all public schools and $22,805 tuition for out-state schools)
- Money required for housing and living
- Money required for necessary books and supplies
Tuition fee waiver for dependents of service-connected disabled veterans
If the veteran is 100 % disabled, then the dependents are eligible for full fee waiver from the college and university of state. There are many states that offer free tuition including Wyoming.
This sate gives fee waiver to all the dependents of veteran for up t o 8 semesters for whole 8 years at any university of state. The dependent will have to meet the criteria of the college offering the fee waiver.
The other states offering the fee waiver for dependents are New Jersey, Nevada, Nebraska, Montana, Missouri, Minnesota, Maryland, Maine, Louisiana, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota and many more.
Related: California State Veteran Benefits
There are certain eligibility requirement given for all states. These all states provide tuition waiver so the dependents can get the education and all the benefits that they deserve for their selfless and devoted services for their country.