Montana Tuition Waiver for Surviving Dependents of a National Guard Member

The surviving spouse or child of a Montana National Guard member who was killed, or died as a result of injury, disease or other disability incurred in the line of duty while serving on state active duty, is eligible for a tuition waiver at Montana University System campuses. State active duty is the defining limit. This is duty ordered by the Governor under Article VI, section 13 of the Montana Constitution, or state duty for special work under 10-1-505: a flood, a fire, a search, a cybersecurity operation, the Youth Challenge program. A Guard member killed on federal Title 10 orders overseas died on federal duty, and their family is looking at the war orphans waiver, federal Chapter 35, and the Fry Scholarship instead of this one. The same distinction governs the state's $50,000 death benefit under 10-1-1201. There is no age limit written into this waiver, which distinguishes it from the war orphans waiver and its cutoff at 25. Board of Regents Policy 940.13 attaches one condition that will decide a lot of cases: the waiver does not apply to the extent that the person is eligible for educational benefits from any governmental or private benefit program that provides comparable benefits. A survivor who has federal education entitlement is expected to use it first. The University System's guidance is to contact the financial aid office at the campus directly rather than applying through the general waiver process. Section 20-25-421(2)(c)(vi) is the statutory authority, and like the rest of that subsection it is permissive: the regents may waive, rather than shall.