KRS 164.515: Exemption from tuition for spouse or child under age 26 of

permanently disabled member of the National Guard, war veteran,

prisoner of war, or member of the Armed Services missing in action --

Conditions.

(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.

(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.