TEXAS HAZLEWOOD EXEMPTION
Program purpose and eligibility requirements
The
purpose of the Hazlewood Exemption (Hazlewood Act) is to provide an
education benefit to honorably discharged or separated Texas veterans
and to eligible dependent children and spouses of Texas veterans.
Veterans, who, at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces:
Are Texas residents, designated Texas as Home of Record, or entered the service in Texas.
Have served at
least 181 days of active military duty excluding training, as indicated
as "net active service" (the sum of 12(c) and 12(d)) on the DD214)
Have received an honorable discharge or separation or a general discharge under honorable conditions
Have no
federal veteran's education benefits, or have federal veterans education
benefits dedicated to the payment of tuition and fees only (such as
Chapter 33 or 31; Pell and SEOG are not relevant) for term or semester
enrolled that do not exceed the value of Hazlewood benefits
Are not in default on a student loan made or guaranteed by the State of Texas
and
enroll in classes for which the college receives tax support (i.e., a
course that does not depend solely on student tuition and fees to cover
its costs), unless the college's governing board has ruled to let
veterans receive the benefit while taking non-funded courses.
NEW!
Veterans
who are granted their first Hazlewood exemption beginning fall, 2011
must reside in Texas during the semester or term for which the exemption
is claimed. This requirement does not apply to veterans who received
the exemption prior to the 2011-2012 academic year.
Children and spouses of veterans who, at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces:
Have
a parent or is the spouse of a veteran of the U. S. Armed Forces, Texas
National Guard, or Texas Air National Guard who died as a result of
service-related injuries or illness, is missing in action, or became
totally disabled for purposes of employability as a result of
service-related injury or illness
Have
no federal veteran's education benefits, or have federal veterans
education benefits dedicated to the payment of tuition and fees only
(such as Chapter 33 or 31; Pell and SEOG Grants are not relevant) for
the term or semester enrolled that do not exceed the value of Hazlewood
benefits and are residents of Texas as of the term or semester in which they enroll.
NEW!
Eligible children who receive the Hazlewood exemption for the first
time beginning fall, 2011 must be 25 years of age or younger on the
first day of the semester or term for which the exemption is claimed
(unless granted an extension due to a qualifying illness or debilitating
condition). This requirement does not apply to children who received
the exemption prior to the 2011-2012 academic year.
The
benefit may not be used for correspondence courses unless the courses
are part of the student's degree plan.
Transferability of Benefits (Legacy Program)
Eligible
veterans may assign unused hours of exemption eligibility to a child
under certain conditions. To be eligible, the child must:
Be a Texas resident
Be the biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or claimed as a dependent in the current or previous tax year
Be
25 years or younger on the first day of the semester or term for which
the exemption is claimed (unless granted an extension due to a
qualifying illness or debilitating condition)
and
make satisfactory academic progress in a degree, certificate, or
continuing education program** as determined by the institution.
If
a child to whom hours have been delegated fails to use all of the
assigned hours, a veteran may re-assign the unused hours that are
available to another dependent child.
NEW!
Effective
with tuition and fee charges fall, 2011, a veteran's spouse or a
child's guardian, conservator, custodian, or other legally designated
caretaker may re-assign unused hours to an eligible child (through
Legacy) on behalf of the veteran if the veteran died prior to requesting
the transfer of hours.
Veterans' spouses are not eligible to receive a transfer of unused hours.