Under Texas Education Code 54.341, Texas veterans attending public colleges in the state of Texas may be eligible for an exemption of most tuition and fees under the Hazelwood Act. The exemption covers all tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges for up to 150 semester credit hours, including fees for correspondence courses. It does not cover deposit fees, student service fees, VCT reservation fees, penalty fees (such as late registration or “three-peat” fees), or any charges for books, school supplies, toolkits, student housing, meal tickets, or clothing.
To be eligible for the Hazelwood Exemption, the veteran must have a Texas address listed as their “Home of Record” or “Place of Entry into Service” on their DD-214, must have served an aggregate 180 days or more of non-training active duty time, must have an honorable or “general under honorable conditions” discharge, and must currently reside in the state of Texas. For cases where a spouse or child wishes to receive Hazelwood based on the veteran’s service, the veteran in question must still meet the requirements listed above, and the recipient must live in Texas during the semester in which they use the exemption. In all cases, the Hazelwood recipient (whether veteran, child, or spouse) must not be in default on a student loan guaranteed by the state of Texas in order to be eligible.
There are three categories of students who can apply for the Hazelwood exemption: Texas veterans, children of Texas veterans receiving transferred hours through the “Legacy” Hazelwood program, and spouses or children eligible for their own 150 Hazelwood hours due to a Texas veteran’s service-related death or 100% disability.
For more information or to download the Hazlewood Exemption application, please visit the Texas Veterans Commission’s Hazlewood web site.