Indiana Tuition and Fee Exemption for Children of Disabled Veterans, Purple Heart Recipients and POW/MIAs

Indiana's most valuable benefit for veterans' families, and one whose value depends on when the parent enlisted. Who qualifies. IC 21-14-4-1(a) covers a person whose mother or father served in the armed forces "during a war or performed duty equally hazardous that was recognized by the award of a service or campaign medal", "suffered a service connected death or disability as determined by" VA, received a discharge other than dishonorable, and either listed Indiana as home of record at enlistment or lived in Indiana at least five years before the child first applies. It also covers children of a Purple Heart recipient or of a parent wounded by enemy action on the same discharge and residence terms; Purple Heart recipients themselves who entered service from Indiana; former pupils of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home; and children and spouses of Indiana National Guard members who died on state active duty. The Department of Veterans Affairs counts any rating from 0 to 100 percent and says Guard and reserve service qualifies if the parent was attending drill. The child. Subsection (b): eligible for the resident tuition rate at the public institution, or an Indiana resident for a private one; adopted before 18 if adopted (the Department says stepchildren are not eligible); "not more than thirty-two (32) years of age when the individual first applies and becomes eligible"; and making satisfactory academic progress. How much. IC 21-14-4-2: tuition and mandatory fees for 124 semester credit hours at a state educational institution, capped at the undergraduate rate. IC 21-14-4-2.5 applies a sliding scale when the parent enlisted or first served after June 30, 2011 and the child qualifies through the disability route: "one hundred percent (100%)" if the parent is rated 80 percent or more, otherwise "twenty percent (20%)" plus the rating, recalculated each term. A child of a 30 percent veteran who enlisted in 2012 gets 50 percent. A Purple Heart route is not reduced. IC 21-14-4-8 subtracts other aid designated for educational costs. At a private non-profit college, a student who graduated high school after January 1, 2023 gets up to $5,000 a year (IC 21-14-4-10). The clock. IC 21-12-13-1 caps these awards at 124 undergraduate credit hours "used within eight (8) years after the date the individual first applies and becomes eligible". The Commission for Higher Education and the Department of Veterans Affairs both describe eight academic years from first use. The statute starts the clock at eligibility. POW and MIA dependents. IC 10-17-7-3 gives a bachelor's degree or certificate "without tuition or charge" to a child of an Indiana resident declared a POW or MIA after January 1, 1960, whatever happened to the parent later; IC 21-12-13-1 applies the same 124 hour and eight year limits. How to apply. Apply in ScholarTrack; the Department of Veterans Affairs decides eligibility (IC 21-14-4-5) and a denial may be appealed to the Veterans' Affairs Commission within 45 days. File a FAFSA every year.