| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to tuition waivers; amending s. 1009.26, |
| 3 | F.S.; requiring state universities and community colleges |
| 4 | to waive a percentage of the in-state tuition rate for |
| 5 | veterans who meet specified criteria; providing a |
| 6 | percentage cap on the number of required credit hours for |
| 7 | which a tuition waiver may be received; providing for |
| 8 | funding; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsection (11) is added to section 1009.26, |
| 13 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 14 | 1009.26 Fee waivers.-- |
| 15 | (11)(a) A state university or community college shall |
| 16 | waive 50 percent of the in-state tuition rate for a person who: |
| 17 | 1. Is an honorably discharged veteran; |
| 18 | 2. Has received a campaign or service medal denoting |
| 19 | service in a combat theater of operations, including, but not |
| 20 | limited to, service in Iraq and Afghanistan and service in |
| 21 | support of the Global War on Terrorism; |
| 22 | 3. Is enrolled as a full-time, part-time, or summer-school |
| 23 | student in an undergraduate program that terminates in a degree |
| 24 | or certificate; |
| 25 | 4. Is a resident of this state at the time he or she |
| 26 | applies for the waiver and was a resident of this state at the |
| 27 | time of the military action that resulted in the awarding of the |
| 28 | campaign or service medal; and |
| 29 | 5. Submits to the state university or to the community |
| 30 | college the DD-214 form issued at the time of separation from |
| 31 | service as documentation that the student has received a Global |
| 32 | War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, or |
| 33 | Afghanistan Campaign Medal. |
| 34 | (b) A waiver under this subsection may be applied to 110 |
| 35 | percent of the number of required credit hours of the degree or |
| 36 | certificate program for which the student is enrolled. |
| 37 | (c) Waivers under this subsection shall be funded through |
| 38 | the legislative budget process and state universities and |
| 39 | community colleges are not responsible for paying the costs of |
| 40 | such waivers. |
| 41 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |