Washington § 28B.15.395 - Waiver of tuition and fees for wrongly convicted persons and their children.

(1) Subject to the conditions in subsection (2) of this section and the limitations in RCW 28B.15.910, the governing boards of the state universities, the regional universities, The Evergreen State College, and the community and technical colleges, must waive all tuition and fees for the following persons:

(a) A wrongly convicted person; and

(b) Any child or stepchild of a wrongly convicted person who was born or became the stepchild of, or was adopted by, the wrongly convicted person before compensation is awarded under RCW 4.100.060.

(2) The following conditions apply to waivers under subsection (1) of this section:

(a) A wrongly convicted person must be a Washington domiciliary to be eligible for the tuition waiver.

(b) A child must be a Washington domiciliary at least 17 years of age to be eligible for the tuition waiver. A child's marital status does not affect eligibility.

(c) Each recipient's continued participation is subject to the school's satisfactory progress policy.

(d) Tuition waivers for graduate students are not required for those who qualify under subsection (1) of this section but are encouraged.

(e) Recipients who receive a waiver under subsection (1) of this section may attend full time or part time. Total credits earned using the waiver may not exceed two hundred quarter credits, or the equivalent of semester credits.

(3) Private vocational schools and private higher education institutions are encouraged to provide waivers consistent with the terms of this section.

(4) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Child" means a biological child, stepchild, or adopted child who was born of, became the stepchild of, or was adopted by a wrongly convicted person before compensation is awarded under RCW 4.100.060.

(b) "Fees" includes all assessments for costs incurred as a condition to a student's full participation in coursework and related activities at an institution of higher education.

(c) "Washington domiciliary" means a person whose true, fixed, and permanent house and place of habitation is the state of Washington. In ascertaining whether a wrongly convicted person or child is domiciled in the state of Washington, public institutions of higher education must, to the fullest extent possible, rely upon the standards provided in RCW 28B.15.013.

(d) "Wrongly convicted person" means a Washington domiciliary who filed a successful claim under chapter 4.100 RCW.