Bill > HB2616

This bill establishes the Ernest McFarland Act tuition waiver scholarship program, administered by the Arizona Board of Regents, to provide tuition scholarships to individuals enrolling in Arizona universities or community colleges who meet specific eligibility criteria. These criteria include being a veteran residing in Arizona or outside the state due to military orders and honorably discharged after over 180 days of active duty (excluding initial training), or being the spouse or child of a service member killed in action, died in service, missing in action, or whose death was service-related, or being the spouse or child of an Arizona National Guard member killed in state or federal service after January 1, 1946, or being the spouse or child of a service member with a total and permanent disability or eligibility for individual unemployability. Eligible individuals must also be classified as in-state students, maintain satisfactory academic progress (though not necessarily a minimum course load), and have attempted fewer than 150 credit hours using these waivers. The Arizona Board of Regents is tasked with creating an application process, setting policies for verifying eligibility and determining maximum scholarship credit hours based on degree programs, and prohibiting certain individuals with excessive prior credit hours from receiving undergraduate scholarships without good cause. The bill also requires universities and community colleges to report credit hours used for waivers, allows for exceptions to academic progress standards due to hardship or good cause, and defines "community college" and "university" for the program's purposes.

Education

https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/84426