(1)  Beginning in the 1997-98 academic year, and subject to the limitations in Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section, a state institution of higher education shall waive tuition for each child and surviving spouse of a Utah peace officer or Utah firefighter who has been killed or is killed in the line of duty if the individual meets the following requirements:

Terms Used In Utah Code 53B-8c-103

  • Child: means an individual who:
(a) is a natural or adopted child of a deceased peace officer or deceased firefighter; and
(b) was under the age of 25 at the time of the peace officer's or firefighter's death. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • Department: means the Department of Public Safety. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • 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.
  • firefighter: means a member, including volunteer members and members paid on call, of a fire department or other organization that provides fire suppression and other fire-related services, of a political subdivision who is responsible for or is in a capacity that includes responsibility for the extinguishment of fires. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • Killed: means that the peace officer's or firefighter's death is the direct and proximate result of a traumatic injury incurred in the line of duty. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • Line of duty: means an action that a peace officer or firefighter is obligated or authorized to perform by rule, regulation, condition of employment or service, or law, including a social, ceremonial, or athletic function that the peace officer or firefighter is assigned to or compensated for by the public agency being served. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • peace officer: means an employee of a law enforcement agency that is part of or administered by the state or any of its political subdivisions, and whose duties consist primarily of the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of criminal statutes or ordinances of this state or any of its political subdivisions. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • State institution of higher education: means those institutions designated in Section 53B-1-102. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
  • Tuition: means tuition and fees at the rate charged for residents of the state. See Utah Code 53B-8c-102
    • (a)  applies, qualifies, and is admitted as a full-time, part-time, or summer school student in a program of study leading to a degree or certificate;

    (b)  is a resident student of the state as determined under Section 53B-8-102;

    (c)  applies to the department for a waiver of tuition under this chapter and provides evidence satisfactory to the department that:

    (i)  the applicant is the surviving spouse or child of a peace officer or firefighter who was killed in the line of duty;

    (ii)  the course or courses for which the applicant is seeking a tuition waiver meet the requirements of Subsection (2); and

    (iii)  the applicant meets the other requirements of this section;

    (d)  for a child of a peace officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty, applies under Subsection (1)(c) for the first time before the age of 25;

    (e)  maintains satisfactory academic progress, as defined by the institution of higher education, for each term or semester in which the individual is enrolled, which may be measured by the definition used for federal student assistance programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965; and

    (f)  has not achieved a bachelor’s degree and has received tuition reimbursement under this chapter for less than 124 semester credits or 180 quarter credits at an institution of higher education.

    (2)  A child or surviving spouse of a peace officer or firefighter who was killed in the line of duty is eligible for a tuition waiver under this section of not more than nine semesters or the equivalent number of quarters.

    (3)  Tuition shall be waived only to the extent that the tuition is not covered or paid by any scholarship, trust fund, statutory benefit, or any other source of tuition coverage available for a waiver under this chapter.

    (4)  An institution of higher education shall waive tuition under this chapter only for courses that are applicable toward the degree or certificate requirements of the program in which the child or surviving spouse is enrolled.

    Amended by Chapter 225, 2015 General Session

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