Veterans and Other Military Personnel; Dependents

Hazlewood Act Exemption for Texas Veterans

Exemption applies to tuition and mandatory fees, excluding Student Services fee.

View Texas Education Code § 54.341 for full details.

Eligibility for veteran

Eligible veteran students are those who:

at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces, designated Texas as Home of Record, entered the service in Texas or was a Texas resident
have received an honorable discharge, separation or a general discharge under honorable conditions
served at least 181 days of active-duty service, excluding training
have no federal veteran's education benefits or have no 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
aren't in default on a student load made or guaranteed by the state of Texas
and enroll in classes for which SFA receives tax support (for example, a course that doesn't depend solely on student tuition and fees to cover its costs).

Additional requirement: Veterans who were granted their first Hazlewood Act 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 the veterans who either received the exemption prior to the 2011-12 academic year, have reenlisted into active duty or reside with a spouse who is on active duty.

Eligibility for child of veteran (Legacy Act)

Eligible veterans may assign up to 150 unused hours of exemption eligibility to a child under certain conditions.

The child must:

qualify for Texas resident tuition
be the biological child, stepchild, adopted child or claimed as a dependent in the current or previous tax year
be 25 years old 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 SFA.

If a child to whom hours have been delegated does not use all of the assigned hours, a veteran may reassign the unused hours that are available to another child. Only one child can use the Hazlewood Act at a time.

Eligibility for spouse or child of member of the armed forces who is disabled, deceased or missing in action

The Hazlewood Act also is extended to spouses and dependent children of eligible active duty, Texas National Guard and Texas Air National Guard veterans who:

died in the line of duty or as a result of injury or illness directly related to military service
are missing in action
or who became totally disabled for purposes of employability as a result of a service-related injury or illness.

Each child and spouse will receive a 150 semester credit hour exemption.

Note: A child of a qualified veteran who is not 100% disabled or has a service-connected death may qualify for benefits under the Hazlewood Legacy Program.

The spouse or child must:

qualify for Texas resident tuition
be a spouse or child of a veteran who, at the time of entry into the U.S. Armed Forces:
- was a Texas resident
- designated Texas as Home of Record
- or entered the service in Texas
be a spouse or child 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
- became totally disabled (100%) as a result of a service-related injury or illness
- or is entitled to receive compensation at the 100% rate due to individual un-employability due to a service connected injury or illness.
and have no federal veteran's education benefits or have no 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

Continuation requirements

If on the completion of any semester or term you fail to meet the GPA requirements described in SFA's policy regarding eligibility for financial aid or have reached the excessive hour rule limits, you may not receive the exemption for the next semester or term in which you enroll.

These continuation requirements do not apply to the child or spouse of a veteran who was killed in action, who died while in service, is missing in action or whose death is documented to be directly caused by illness or injury connected with service in the U.S. armed forces.

Read additional requirements to maintain eligibility.

How to apply

Step One: Complete the Hazlewood application and collect supporting documentation

The supplemental documentation you need to submit is determined by the Hazlewood exemption in which you're eligible. Expand the appropriate section below for details on the documents you'll need to upload.

Veteran exemption

First-time users: If you're using Hazlewood for the first time at SFA, you'll need to provide the following for the Hazlewood exemption:

Hazlewood Application
copy of the veteran's DD-214
copy of the veteran's Texas Driver License
if served after 9/11, copy of VA Benefit Letter
- no older than 3 months old
and copy of veteran's Hours Report from Hazlewood database (even if zero)

When you're ready, proceed to step two.

Returning users: All future terms you wish to use Hazlewood, you'll need to provide the following each term:

Subsequent (Renewal) Hazlewood Application for Continued Enrollment (under Hazlewood Forms)
copy of veteran's Texas Driver License
and copy of veteran's Hours Report from Hazlewood database (even if zero)

Legacy exemption