EDUCATION RULES FOR CHILDREN OF INDIANA VETERANS

• If the veteran parent did not enter active duty service from an Indiana home of record address as annotated on the Certificate of Relaease or Discharge from Active Duty (DD214), the veteran parent must have resided in Indiana for five years prior to the student first applying for Tuition and Fee Exemption as the child of a disabled veteran or child of a Purple Heart recipient
• The student can be as old as 32 years of age, but must not have reached their 33rd birthday when first applying for the benefit
• If the student is adopted, the adoption must have taken place prior to their 18th birthday

NOTE: the 32-year-old age limit DOES NOT apply to a Purple Heart recipient applying for this benefit and only applies to the child of the disabled veteran or the child of a Purple Heart recipient.

All students must use the education cost exemption within eight (8) academic years regardless of the veteran’s intial enlistment date.  However, to minimize the impact of this, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education is grandfathering students who first used the educational cost exemption before July 1, 2011 until students use the exemption again after June 30, 2017. Once these grandfathered students use the exemption after June 30, 2017, they will have eight academic years to use the remaining exemption.

Beginning July 1, 2020, students must maintain satisfactory acedemic progress as determined by the state educational institution.

The list of State Supported Schools for these state aid programs are as follows:
Ball State
Indiana State University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University East
Indiana University Kokomo
Indiana University South Bend
Indiana University Southeast
Purdue University West Lafayette
Purdue University North West (Hammond)
Purdue University North West (Westville)
Purdue Global
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University Purdue University  Columbus
Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne
Ivy Tech Community College (all Campuses)
University of Southern Indiana
Vincennes University
Western Governor’s University (WGU) INDIANA

 There are three State Aid Programs for Tuition and Fee Exemption administered by IDVA through Scholar Track. (Students must be eligible for the resident tuition rate for state supported schools in Indiana to use these state aid programs.)

1.Tuition and Fee Exemption for the Child(ren) of a Disabled Veteran or POW/MIA or Purple Heart Recipients
Documents needed for eligibility determination:
a. Proof of relationship to the veteran (step-children are not eligible for this benefit)
b. A DD214 showing veteran’s wartime service OR award of Service, Campaign or Expeditionary Medal if all active duty was during peacetime and equally hazardous duty was performed. If the student is applying as the child of a Purple Heart recipient or child of a POW, and the veteran is not service-connected disabled, proof of award of the Purple Heart Medal or POW status is required
c. USDVA service-connected disability rating award letter 

2. Tuition and Fee Exemption for Indiana Purple Heart Recipients
Documents needed for eligibility determination:
a. Proof of award of the Purple Heart Medal if not already annotated on the DD214 or DD215
b. DD214 showing an Indiana Home of Record address at the time of entry

3. Tuition and Fee Exemption for Former Students of the Morton Memorial High School/ Soldier’s and Sailor’s Home
IDVA will verify the student’s attendance at the Morton Memorial High School from the cumulative list IDVA has on file. No documents need be uploaded when applying for this program.
 

ALL STUDENTS MUST FILE A FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA) BEFORE APPLYING FOR THIS BENEFIT IN SCHOLAR TRACK. FAFSA INFORMATION IS FED INTO SCHOLAR TRACK AND MAKES THE APPLICATION PROCESS EASIER. CLICK HERE FOR THE FAFSA WEB SITE

HOW TO APPLY ONLINE THROUGH SCHOLAR TRACK
All students should create an account in Scholar Track. Once the account is verified the student can access their account and apply for the appropriate state aid progam. Parents cannot apply for the student it must be completed under the student’s account.

Before the student submits the application, proof of relationship to the veteran parent must be uploaded or the application cannot be processed.  A birth certificate, Consulate Report of Birth Abroad, or appropriate adoption  paperwork are all acceptable. All documents need to list the veteran parent.  If available, please also upload proof of veteran’s active duty wartime service and proof of service connected disability and, if needed, proof of Indiana residency. (see NOTE below)

https://scholartrack.in.gov

If you are the Child of the Veteran:

The biological or legally adopted child(ren) of eligible disabled Indiana veterans may be eligible for Tuition and Fee Exemption at any state-supported post-secondary school or university in the State of Indiana. Children of veterans must upload a copy of their birth certificate or adoption papers with their online application.   PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT APPLICATIONS WITHOUT UPLOADING PROOF OF RELATIONSHIP TO THE VETERAN. The child must have been legally adopted before age 18. Stepchildren are not eligible.

Eligibility 

Sec. 2. (a) Subject to this section and section 2.5 of this chapter, an eligible applicant is entitled to enter, remain, and receive instruction in a state educational institution upon the same conditions, qualifications, and regulations prescribed for other applicants for admission to or scholars in the state educational institutions, without the payment of any educational costs for one hundred twenty-four (124) semester credit hours in the state educational institution.

(b) The maximum amount that an eligible applicant is exempt from paying for a semester hour is an amount equal to the cost of an undergraduate semester credit hour at the state educational institution in which the eligible applicant enrolls.

What Costs are covered? (If the veteran parent initially served on or after July 1, 2011)

Subject to subsection (d) and section 2(b) of this chapter, the eligible applicant is entitled to a reduction in the educational costs that would otherwise apply as follows:
(1) If the individual’s father or mother suffered a disability as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs with a rating of eighty percent (80%) or more, the individual is entitled to a one hundred percent (100%) reduction in education costs.

(2) If the individual’s father or mother suffered a disability as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs with a rating of less than eighty percent (80%), the individual is entitled to a reduction in education costs equal to the sum of:

(A) twenty percent (20%); plus
(B) the disability rating of the individual’s father or mother.
(d) The latest disability rating determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for an individual’s father or mother shall be used to compute the percentage by which education costs are reduced under this section. If the disability rating of the individual’s father or mother changes after the beginning of an academic semester, quarter, or other period for which educational costs have been reduced under this section, the change in disability rating shall be applied beginning with the immediately following academic semester, quarter, or other period.

As added by P.L.169-2011, SEC.17.
IC 21-14-4-3 Purpose
Sec. 3. For purposes of this chapter, the commission shall define mandatory fees that qualify as educational costs.
[Pre-2007 Higher Education Recodification Citation: 20-12-19-1(c) part.]
As added by P.L.2-2007, SEC.255. Amended by P.L.107-2012, SEC.40.
IC 21-14-4-4 Payment of incidental expenses
Sec. 4. If an eligible applicant:
(1) is permitted to matriculate in the state educational institution;

(2) qualifies under this chapter; and

(3) has earned or has been awarded a cash scholarship that is paid or payable to a state educational institution, from any source; the amount paid shall be applied to the credit of the eligible applicant in the payment of incidental expenses of the eligible applicant’s attendance at the state educational institution.  The balance, if the terms of the scholarship permit, must be returned to the eligible applicant.
[Pre-2007 Higher Education Recodification Citation: 20-12-19-1(d).]
IC 21-7-13-14

“Educational costs”

Sec. 14. “Educational costs” means tuition and regularly assessed fees.

The Complete IC 21-14-4 covering this state aid program can be viewed by clicking HERE