(1) The spouse, regardless of age, and any child, stepchild, or orphan, under the age of twenty-six (26), of a permanently and totally disabled member of the Kentucky National Guard or Reserve Component injured while on state active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, or a permanently and totally disabled war veteran, or a one hundred percent (100) service-connected disabled veteran regardless of wartime service, or prisoner of war or member of the Armed Services declared missing in action shall not be required to pay any matriculation or tuition fees upon his admission to any state-supported institution of higher education or to any state-supported vocational training school for a period not in excess of forty-five (45) months in order to obtain a diploma, nor in excess of the lesser number of months required for a certificate of completion.
(2) To be entitled to benefits under this section the parent or stepparent of the child claiming benefits if living must be rated permanently and totally disabled for pension purposes or one hundred percent (100) disabled for compensation purposes by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. If the veteran is deceased, the claim to benefits is to be based on the rating held by the veteran at the time of death or if a prisoner of war or missing in action, must have been declared as such by the Department of Defense. Members of the Kentucky National Guard must be rated permanently and totally disabled as provided in KRS Chapter 342. The parent’s, stepparent’s, or spouse’s service and rating must be evidenced by certification from the records of the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Department of Defense of the United States.

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 164.515

  • Action: includes all proceedings in any court of this state. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Institution: means a university, college, community college, health technology center, vocational-technical school, technical institute, technical college, technology center, or the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. See Kentucky Statutes 164.001
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(3) The parent-child relationship must be shown by birth certificate, legal adoption papers, marriage certificate, or other documentary evidence. A stepchild must be a member of the veteran’s household. The spousal relationship must be shown by a marriage certificate or other documentary evidence.
(4) To entitle a spouse, child, stepchild, or orphan to benefit under this section the disabled member of the National Guard or Reserve Component veteran living or deceased must have served on state active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training or active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States, and his discharge must have been under honorable conditions. He must be a resident or, if deceased, have been a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
(5) No provision of this section shall serve to deny these benefits to an eligible spouse, child, stepchild, or orphan, who enlists, or who fulfills a military obligation, in the Armed Forces of the United States and is discharged under honorable conditions; the period of time spent in the military service to be compensated by like time, beyond the age of twenty-six (26) years if required, but not in excess of the period of enrollment as set forth in subsection (1) of this section.
(6) The marriage of an eligible child, stepchild, or orphan, shall not serve to deny full entitlement to the benefits provided in this section.
Effective:June 29, 2017
History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 42, sec. 10, effective June 29, 2017. — Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 2, effective June 26, 2007. — Amended
2004 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 2, effective July 13, 2004. — Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 42, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2002. — Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 377, sec. 3, effective July 14, 2000. — Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 181, sec. 101, effective April 4, 1994. — Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 331, sec. 29, effective July
15, 1986. — Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 295, sec. 7, effective June 17, 1978. — Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 112, sec. 2; and ch. 207, sec. 2. — Amended 1972
Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 1. — Amended 1966 Ky. Acts ch. 200, sec. 1. — Created
1960 Ky. Acts ch. 92, secs. 1 to 5.