To amend sections 3333.26, 5910.04, and 5910.05 and to enact section 5910.033 of the Revised Code to provide college scholarships to children of members of the United States armed forces killed or disabled in the line of duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Section 1. That sections 3333.26, 5910.04, and 5910.05 be amended and section 5910.033 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

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.

(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 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 Iraqi freedom is only eligible for a waiver of tuition and student fees under this division to the extent the student is not eligible for a war orphans scholarship authorized by Chapter 5910. of the Revised Code.

(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. 5910.033.  War orphans' scholarships, provided in sections 5910.01 to 5910.06 of the Revised Code, shall be granted to the child of any person who in the course of honorable service in the armed forces of the United States during operation Iraqi freedom was either killed while on active duty or disabled while on active duty and was discharged from the armed services due to that disability. Such scholarships shall be granted only to a child who further qualifies pursuant to divisions (A), (B), and (C) of section 5910.03 of the Revised Code.

As used in this section, "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.

Sec. 5910.04.  Scholarships granted under sections 5910.01 to 5910.06 of the Revised Code shall consist of either of the following:

(A) An exemption from the payment of one hundred per cent of the general and instructional fees at colleges and universities which receive support from the state of Ohio and are approved by the chancellor of the board of regents, except that the percentage may be reduced by the war orphans scholarship board in any year that insufficient funds are appropriated to fully fund scholarships for all eligible students;

(B) A grant to an eligible child who is enrolled in an institution that has received a certificate of authorization from the board of regents under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, or a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code, or an institution that has received a certificate of registration from the state board of proprietary school registration. Students who attend an institution that holds a certificate of registration shall be enrolled in either a program leading to an associate degree or a program leading to a bachelor's degree for which associate or bachelor's degree program the institution has received program authorization issued under section 3332.05 of the Revised Code to offer such degree program. The grant shall be paid to the child through the institution in which the child is enrolled, and shall equal one hundred per cent of the average value of all scholarships granted under division (A) of this section during the preceding year, except that the percentage may be reduced by the war orphans scholarship board in any year that insufficient funds are appropriated to fully fund scholarships for all eligible students. In no case shall the grant exceed the total general and instructional charges of the institution.

The board shall not reduce the percentage to be paid for scholarships awarded pursuant to section 5910.032 or 5910.033 of the Revised Code below one hundred per cent.

Sec. 5910.05.  The Ohio war orphans scholarship board shall determine how many scholarships are to be granted based upon available funds provided by the Ohio general assembly. If funds are available all eligible applicants shall be granted a scholarship. There shall be no limitation on the number of scholarships granted under section 5910.032 or 5910.033 of the Revised Code, nor any limitation on the number of scholarships granted to any college or university under such section sections. No person shall be granted a scholarship for more than five academic years of education, which shall be at the undergraduate level. The board shall provide minimum scholastic requirements for recipients and shall withdraw the aid from any person who fails to maintain such requirements.

Section 2. That existing sections 3333.26, 5910.04, and 5910.05 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.