Utah Scott B. Lundell Military Survivors Tuition Waiver

Named for a Utah National Guard soldier, and written so that a Guard family is not caught by a residency rule. Whose death qualifies. Section 53H-11-308, subsection 1, paragraph (b) defines "qualifying deceased military member" as a person who: "(i) was killed while serving on state or federal active duty, under orders of competent authority and not as a result of the member's own misconduct; or (ii) dies of wounds or injuries received while serving on state or federal active duty, under orders of competent authority and not as a result of the member's own misconduct; and (iii) was a member of the armed forces of the United States and a Utah resident; (iv) was a member of the reserve component of the armed forces on or after September 11, 2001, and a Utah resident; or (v) was a member of the Utah National Guard on or after September 11, 2001." Three service categories with different conditions. An armed forces member must have been a Utah resident, with no date limit. A reserve component member must have been a Utah resident and serving on or after September 11, 2001. A Utah National Guard member needs no separate residency condition at all, because Guard membership supplies the Utah connection, and must have been serving on or after September 11, 2001. "State active duty" is defined in paragraph (c) as "serving in the Utah National Guard in any duty status authorized by the governor under Title 39A, National Guard and Militia Act". So a Guard member killed on a governor-ordered mission inside Utah is covered, which federal survivor education benefits generally are not. "Federal active duty" in paragraph (a) means serving under orders under 10 U.S.C. or 32 U.S.C. on or after September 11, 2001. Note the second limb of the death definition. A member who dies later "of wounds or injuries received while serving" is inside the section. The death need not be contemporaneous with the service. The exclusion to watch: "not as a result of the member's own misconduct". What the dependent gets. Subsection 2: "An institution of higher education shall waive undergraduate tuition for a dependent of a qualifying deceased military member" on five conditions: the dependent has been accepted by the institution under its admissions guidelines; except as provided in subsection 3, the dependent is a resident student under section 53H-11-202; the dependent "may not have already completed a course of studies leading to an undergraduate degree"; the dependent "may only utilize the waiver for courses that are applicable toward the degree or certificate requirements of the program in which the dependent is enrolled"; and the dependent "may not be excluded from the waiver if the dependent has previously taken courses at or has been awarded credit by an institution of higher education." That last condition is protective: prior college coursework or transfer credit does not disqualify you, only a completed undergraduate degree does. The fourth condition is a limit: elective coursework outside the degree or certificate requirements is not covered. The Guard exception to residency. Subsection 3: "Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(b), a dependent of a qualifying deceased military member that was a member of the Utah National Guard is not required to be a resident student as determined under Section 53H-11-202." A surviving child of a Utah Guard member who now lives in another state can use the waiver at Utah resident rates. For a dependent of an armed forces or reserve member, the resident student requirement still applies, though a veteran's dependent may well satisfy it through section 53H-11-202 anyway. Undergraduate only. Subsection 4: "The tuition waiver in this section is applicable for undergraduate study only." There is no graduate component, unlike the Purple Heart waiver. What is not covered. Subsection 6: "The waiver in this section does not apply to fees, books, or housing expenses." Three exclusions, stated together. Compare the Veterans Tuition Gap Program, which covers fees, books, supplies and a housing allowance but is for veterans rather than survivors, and is limited to the final year of a bachelor's degree. Certification. Subsection 5: "The Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, after consultation with the adjutant general if necessary, shall certify to the institution that the dependent is a surviving dependent eligible for the tuition waiver." Start at the department, which will bring in the adjutant general where Guard service is involved. Who pays. Subsection 7 lets the board request reimbursement from the Legislature. The waiver binds the institution regardless. Where the section lives now. Renumbered and amended by chapter 8 of the 2025 first special session. Guides citing section 53B-8-104 are citing the predecessor. Federal benefits to check alongside this. Chapter 35 Dependents' Educational Assistance and the Fry Scholarship under 38 U.S.C. chapter 33 may both be available to the same family, and they can pay for things this waiver excludes. A survivor should look at all three rather than choosing one.