To amend sections 3333.26 and 5910.01 and contingently to amend section 3319.60 of the Revised Code to specify War Orphans Scholarship eligibility of children of deceased or disabled veterans who served during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, to qualify children of members of the United States armed forces killed in the line of duty during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom for college tuition waivers or reductions if they do not receive War Orphans Scholarships, contingently to require the Educator Standards Board to create a standing subcommittee on higher education, and contingently to clarify the selection process for higher education representatives appointed to the Board.

SECTION 1. That sections 3333.26 and 5910.01 be amended and section 3319.60 of the Revised Code contingently be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3319.60.  There is hereby established the educator standards board. The board shall develop and recommend to the state board of education standards for entering and continuing in the teaching and principalship professions and standards for educator professional development.

(A) The board shall consist of the following members appointed by the state board of education within sixty days of the effective date of this section:

(1) Eight persons employed as teachers in a school district. Two persons appointed under this division shall be employed as teachers in a secondary school, two persons shall be employed as teachers in a middle school, two persons shall be employed as teachers in an elementary school, one person shall be employed as a teacher in a pre-kindergarten classroom, and one person shall be a teacher who serves on a local professional development committee pursuant to section 3319.22 of the Revised Code. At least one person appointed under this division shall hold a teaching certificate or license issued by the national board for professional teaching standards. The Ohio education association shall submit a list of twelve nominees for these appointments and the state board shall appoint six members to the educator standards board from that list. The Ohio federation of teachers shall submit a list of four nominees for these appointments and the state board shall appoint two members to the educator standards board from that list. If there is an insufficient number of nominees from both lists to satisfy the membership requirements of this division, the state board shall request additional nominees who satisfy those requirements.

(2) One person employed as a teacher in a chartered, nonpublic school. Stakeholder groups selected by the state board shall submit a list of two nominees for this appointment.

(3) Four persons employed as school administrators in a school district. Of the four persons appointed under this division, one person shall be employed as a secondary school principal, one person shall be employed as a middle school principal, one person shall be employed as an elementary school principal, and one person shall be employed as a school district superintendent. The buckeye association of school administrators shall submit a list of two nominees for the school district superintendent, the Ohio association of elementary school administrators shall submit a list of two nominees for the elementary school principal, and the Ohio association of secondary school administrators shall submit a list of two nominees for the middle school principal and a list of two nominees for the secondary school principal.

(4) One person who is a member of a school district board of education. The Ohio school boards association shall submit a list of two nominees for this appointment.

(5) Three persons employed by institutions of higher education that offer teacher preparation programs approved under section 3319.23 of the Revised Code. One person appointed under this division shall be employed by an institution of higher education that has a certificate of authorization under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code; one person shall be employed by a state university, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, or a university branch; and one person shall be employed by a state community college, community college, or technical college. Of the two persons appointed under this division from an institution of higher education that has a certificate of authorization under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code and from a state university or university branch, one shall be employed in a college of education and one shall be employed in a college of arts and sciences. The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall submit a list of two slates of nominees for each of these appointments and the state board shall appoint one slate as members of the educator standards board.

(6) The superintendent of public instruction or a designee of the superintendent, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents or a designee of the chancellor, and the chairpersons of the education committees of the senate and house of representatives shall serve as nonvoting, ex officio members.

(B) Initial terms of office for nine members shall be for two years and three years for eight members, beginning on the day all members are appointed to the board. At the first meeting of the board, members shall draw lots to determine the length of the term each member shall serve. Thereafter terms of office shall be for two years. Each member shall hold office from the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. At the first meeting, appointed members shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. Vacancies on the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. The terms of office of members are renewable.

(C) Members shall receive no compensation for their services.

(D) The board shall establish guidelines for its operation. These guidelines shall require the creation of a standing subcommittee on higher education, and shall permit the creation of other standing subcommittees when necessary. The board shall determine the membership of any subcommittee it creates. The board may select persons who are not members of the board to participate in the deliberations of any subcommittee as representatives of stakeholder groups, but no such person shall vote on any issue before the subcommittee.

Sec. 3333.26.  (A) Any citizen of this state who has resided within the state for one year and who was in the active service of the United States as a soldier, sailor, nurse, or marine between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who has been honorably discharged from such service, shall be admitted to any school, college, or university that receives state funds in support thereof, without being required to pay any tuition or matriculation fee, but is not relieved from the payment of laboratory or similar fees.

(B)(1) As used in this division:

(a) "Volunteer firefighter" has the meaning given in division (B)(1) of section 146.01 of the Revised Code;

(b) "Public service officer" means an Ohio firefighter, volunteer firefighter, police officer, member of the highway patrol, employee designated to exercise the powers of police officers pursuant to section 1545.13 of the Revised Code, or other peace officer as defined by division (B) of section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, or a person holding any equivalent position in another state;

(c) "Qualified former spouse" means the former spouse of a public service officer who is the custodial parent of a minor child of that marriage pursuant to an order allocating the parental rights and responsibilities for care of the child issued pursuant to section 3109.04 of the Revised Code.

(d) "Operation enduring freedom" means that period of conflict which began October 7, 2001, and ends on a date declared by the president of the United States or the congress.

(e) "Operation Iraqi freedom" means that period of conflict which began March 20, 2003, and ends on a date declared by the president of the United States or the congress.

(2) Any resident of this state who is under twenty-six years of age, or under thirty years of age if the resident has been honorably discharged from the armed services of the United States, and who is the child of a public service officer killed in the line of duty or of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty during operation enduring freedom or operation Iraqi freedom, and who is admitted to any state university or college as defined in division (A)(1) of section 3345.12 of the Revised Code, community college, state community college, university branch, or technical college, shall not be required to pay any tuition or any student fee for up to four academic years of education, which shall be at the undergraduate level.

A child of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty during operation enduring freedom or operation Iraqi freedom is eligible for a waiver of tuition and student fees under this division only if the student is not eligible for a war orphans scholarship authorized by Chapter 5910. of the Revised Code. In any year in which the war orphans scholarship board reduces the percentage of tuition covered by a war orphans scholarship below one hundred per cent pursuant to division (A) of section 5910.04 of the Revised Code, the waiver of tuition and student fees under this division for a child of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty during operation enduring freedom or operation Iraqi freedom shall be reduced by the same percentage.

(3) Any resident of this state who is the spouse or qualified former spouse of a public service officer killed in the line of duty, and who is admitted to any state university or college as defined in division (A)(1) of section 3345.12 of the Revised Code, community college, state community college, university branch, or technical college, shall not be required to pay any tuition or any student fee for up to four academic years of education, which shall be at the undergraduate level.

(C) Any institution that is not subject to division (B) of this section and that holds a valid certificate of registration issued under Chapter 3332., a valid certificate issued under Chapter 4709., or a valid license issued under Chapter 4713. of the Revised Code, or that is nonprofit and has a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code or that is a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code that reduces tuition and student fees of a student who is eligible to attend an institution of higher education under the provisions of division (B) of this section by an amount indicated by the Ohio board of regents shall be eligible to receive a grant in that amount from the board. Each institution that enrolls students under division (B) of this section shall report to the board, by the first day of July of each year, the number of students who were so enrolled and the average amount of all such tuition and fees waived during the preceding year. The board shall determine the average amount of all such tuition and fees waived during the preceding year. The average amount of tuition and fees waived under division (B) of this section during the preceding year shall be the amount of grants that participating institutions shall receive under this division during the current year, but no grant under this division shall exceed the tuition and student fees due and payable by the student prior to the reduction referred to in this division. Such grants shall be made for four years of undergraduate education of an eligible student.

Sec. 5910.01.  As used in this chapter and section 5919.34 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Child" includes natural and adopted children and stepchildren who have not been legally adopted by the veteran parent provided that the relationship between the stepchild and the veteran parent meets the following criteria:

(1) The veteran parent is married to the child's natural or adoptive parent at the time application for a scholarship granted under this chapter is made; or if the veteran parent is deceased, the child's natural or adoptive parent was married to the veteran parent at the time of the veteran parent's death;

(2) The child resided with the veteran parent for a period of not less than ten consecutive years immediately prior to making application for the scholarship; or if the veteran parent is deceased, the child resided with the veteran parent for a period of not less than ten consecutive years immediately prior to the veteran parent's death;

(3) The child received financial support from the veteran parent for a period of not less than ten consecutive years immediately prior to making application for the scholarship; or if the veteran parent is deceased, the child received financial support from the veteran parent for a period of not less than ten consecutive years immediately prior to the veteran parent's death.

(B) "Veteran" includes either of the following:

(1) Any person who was a member of the armed services of the United States for a period of ninety days or more, or who was discharged from the armed services due to a disability incurred while a member with less than ninety days' service, or who died while a member of the armed services; provided that such service, disability, or death occurred during one of the following periods: April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918; December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946; June 25, 1950, to January 31, 1955; January 1, 1960, to May 7, 1975; August 2, 1990, to the end of operations conducted as a result of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, including support for operation desert shield and operation desert storm, as declared by the president of the United States or the congress; October 7, 2001, to the end of operation enduring freedom as declared by the president of the United States or the congress; March 20, 2003, to the end of operation Iraqi freedom as declared by the president of the United States or the congress; or any other period of conflict established by the United States department of veterans affairs for pension purposes;

(2) Any person who served as a member of the United States merchant marine and to whom either of the following applies:

(a) The person has an honorable report of separation from the active duty military service, form DD214 or DD215.

(b) The person served in the United States merchant marine between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, and died on active duty while serving in a war zone during that period of service.

(C) "Armed services of the United States" or "United States armed forces" includes the army, air force, navy, marine corps, coast guard, and such other military service branch as may be designated by congress as a part of the armed forces of the United States.

(D) "Board" means the Ohio war orphans scholarship board created by section 5910.02 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Disabled" means having a sixty per cent or greater service-connected disability or receiving benefits for permanent and total nonservice-connected disability, as determined by the United States department of veterans affairs.

(F) "United States merchant marine" includes the United States army transport service and the United States naval transport service.

SECTION 2. That existing sections 3333.26 and 5910.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed, and existing section 3319.60 of the Revised Code contingently is hereby repealed.

SECTION 3.  The amendment by this act of section 3319.60 of the Revised Code is contingent upon the section becoming law in the same form as it results from the report of the Committee of Conference on Am. Sub. S.B. 2 of the 125th General Assembly as first submitted to the House of Representatives on January 28, 2004.