HB2616 • 2026

tuition waivers; ABOR; community colleges

HB2616 - tuition waivers; ABOR; community colleges

Children Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Walt Blackman
Last action: 2026-01-26
Official status: House second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the total cost and number of new recipients. These estimates are based on assumptions and data from previous years, which may vary.

Ernest McFarland Tuition Waiver Scholarship Program

This bill establishes a scholarship program managed by ABOR to provide tuition waivers for eligible veterans, their spouses and children, as well as members of the National Guard with disabilities.

What This Bill Does

Establishes the Ernest McFarland Tuition Waiver Scholarship program administered by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR).
Provides scholarships to honorably discharged veterans who reside in Arizona or outside due to military orders, and their spouses or children.
Offers scholarships to spouses or children of U.S. Armed Forces members killed in action, missing in action, or with total and permanent disabilities.
Includes spouses or children of Arizona National Guard members who were killed on duty after 1946 or have a total and permanent disability.

Who It Names or Affects

Veterans residing in Arizona or outside due to military orders.
Spouses and children of U.S. Armed Forces members killed, missing, or with disabilities.
Spouses and children of Arizona National Guard members killed on duty after 1946 or with total and permanent disabilities.

Terms To Know

Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR): The governing body that oversees public universities in Arizona.
Tuition Waiver Scholarship: A scholarship covering tuition costs for eligible students at public universities or community colleges.

Limits and Unknowns

The exact number of new recipients and the total cost are not known.
Some newly eligible individuals might use federal benefits first, reducing the need for this scholarship.

Bill History

2026-01-26 House
House second read
2026-01-22 House
House Rules: None
2026-01-22 House
House Education: None
2026-01-22 House
House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2616 - 572R - Fiscal Note

BILL
#
��� HB 2616

TITLE:
���
tuition waivers; ABOR;
community colleges

SPONSOR:
��� Blackman

STATUS:
��
As Introduced

PREPARED
BY:
��� Grace
Timpany

Description

The
bill would establish the Ernest McFarland tuition waiver scholarship administered
by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) which would provide a scholarship to: 1)
a veteran who was honorably discharged and resides in the state or resides out
of the state solely due to current military orders; 2) a spouse or child of a
member of the United States Armed Forces who was killed in action, died while
in service or is missing in action (MIA); 3) a spouse or child of a member of
the Arizona National Guard who was killed on duty, has a total and permanent
disability, or meets the eligibility requirements for individual
unemployability as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The
scholarship would be provided to eligible students who attend either a public
Arizona university or a community college.

Estimated
Impact

We
estimate that the bill could cost $1.3 million annually to provide tuition
scholarships to honorably discharged veterans. The bill could cost more to the
extent that other newly eligible populations utilize the scholarship or respond
to incentives created by the bill, but we cannot determine the magnitude of the
increase in advance. Under current law, several of the populations outlined in
the bill already receive a tuition waiver. Our estimate only contemplates the
fiscal impact of newly eligible students which includes veterans who are
honorably discharged and spouses or children of a member of the armed forces
who is MIA or who has a total and permanent disability rating.

ABOR
has not yet responded to our request for a fiscal estimate.

Analysis

Our
estimate assumes the following:

1)

Honorably discharged
veterans would become eligible for a tuition waiver under the bill. Spouses of such
veterans are already eligible for a tuition scholarship. According to ABOR's FY
2025 report, 219 spouses received this scholarship at a total cost of $1.3
million and an average scholarship of $5,936 per recipient. Our estimate
assumes that honorably discharged veterans would utilize the new scholarship at
a similar rate as the spouses of honorably discharged veterans.

2)

The bill would add a
tuition waiver scholarship for a spouse or child of a member of the armed
forces who has a permanent and total disability. According to FY 2024 Veterans
Affairs benefits report, there are approximately 470,300 veterans residing in
Arizona and 1.7% of veterans have a total and permanent disability. We lack the
data to determine the number of veterans with a permanent disability who are
married or have children. However, this population is also eligible to receive
educational stipend benefits under the Survivors and Dependents' Educational
Assistance (DEA) program. To the extent that individuals utilize federal
benefits first, the scholarship award for these students may be lower.

3)

The bill adds a
scholarship for spouses and children of members of the armed forces that are
MIA. According to federal data, less than 1% of military members are considered
MIA. As a result, we lack the data to determine the number of students who
would be newly eligible as spouses and children of military members who are MIA.

4)

The magnitude of the
cost would depend on the implementation of the program. Other tuition waivers
and scholarships are applied after all other aid including federal aid,
scholarships and grants is received. If the scholarship is implemented in the
same way, the cost would decrease depending on the amount of other aid received
by eligible individuals. �

5)

The FY 2026 average
undergraduate resident tuition across the 3 public universities after all other
aid is applied is $3,407 and the average tuition across the community colleges
is $2,173.

6)

In addition to
scholarship costs, there may be administrative costs associated with
establishing a scholarship application and distributing the scholarship to
Arizona institutions. Similar scholarship programs administered by ABOR are
capped at 3% of total monies appropriated each year. Using the $1.3 million
estimate above, administrative costs of 3% would be $37,600.

2/16/26

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2616 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
tuition waivers; ABOR; community colleges

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2616

Introduced by

Representative
Blackman

AN
ACT

amending title 15, chapter 14, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-1809.03; relating to
Classification of Students for Tuition Purposes.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 14, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-1809.03, to read:

START_STATUTE
15-1809.03.

Ernest McFarland Act tuition waiver scholarship; tuition
scholarships; eligibility; policies; rules; definitions

A. The Ernest McFarland act tuition
waiver scholarship program is established in the Arizona board of
regents. The Arizona board of regents shall administer the program
and award tuition waiver scholarships to any person who meets all of the
following:

1. Enrolls in a university or
community college.

2. Is one of the following:

(
a
) A veteran
who meets both of the following:

(
i
) resides in
this state or resides outside of this state solely due to the current military
orders of the veteran or of the veteran's spouse.

(
ii
) Was
discharged under honorable conditions after serving on active military duty,
excluding initial entry training, for more than one hundred eighty days.

(
b
) an
individual who is the spouse or child of a member of the Armed Forces of the
United States who was killed in action, died while in service or is missing in
action or whose death, according to documentation, was directly caused by an
illness or injury related to service in the armed forces of the United States.

(
c
) an
individual who is the spouse or child of a member of the Arizona National Guard
or the Arizona Air National Guard who was killed after January 1, 1946 while on
active duty in the service of this state or the United States.

(
d
) an
individual who is the spouse or child of a member of the Armed Forces of the
United States, the Arizona National Guard or the Arizona Air National Guard who
has a total and permanent disability or meets the eligibility requirements for
individual unemployability according to the disability ratings for the United
States department of veterans affairs.

3. Is entitled to classification as
an in-state student under section 15-1802.

4. Complies with the standards of
satisfactory academic progress as established by the university or community
college in which the individual enrolls, except that the individual is not
required to enroll in a minimum course load.

5. Has attempted fewer than one
hundred fifty credit hours using tuition waiver scholarships pursuant to this
section.

B. The Arizona board of regents
shall:

1. Develop an application process and
policies to administer the program and to verify eligibility for a tuition
waiver scholarship pursuant to this section. Policies developed
pursuant to this paragraph must do all of the following:

(
a
) allow an
individual who is eligible pursuant to subsection A of this section to submit
to the Arizona board of regents a completed application and supporting
documentation for a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to this section on or
before the last day instruction is provided for each semester for which the
individual seeks a tuition waiver scholarship.

(
b
) prescribe
guidelines for determining the maximum number of credit hours for which an
individual may be awarded a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to this section
based on the degree or certificate program in which the individual is enrolled. Determinations
pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with the length of the degree
or certificate program according to the university's or community college's
catalog or the regional accreditation commission, except that an individual may
not receive a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to this section for more than
one hundred fifty attempted credit hours.

(
c
) Prohibit an
individual who is described in subsection A, paragraph 2, subdivision (
d
) of this section from receiving a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant
to this section for an undergraduate degree program if, at the beginning of the
semester, the individual has completed an excessive number of credit hours,
unless the individual shows good cause. When determining whether the
individual has completed an excessive number of credit hours, the Arizona Board
of Regents shall:

(
i
) consider
the number of credit hours completed by the individual and the number of credit
hours required for the individual's degree or certificate program.

(
ii
) not
consider credit hours earned by examination or credit hours that the individual
earned while enrolled in high school.

(
d
) require
each university and community college to report to the Arizona board of regents
the number of credit hours for which each individual received a tuition waiver
scholarship pursuant to this section for each semester. If the
individual used the tuition waiver scholarship to pay for only a portion of the
credit hours that the individual completed during the semester, the university
or community college shall report only the proportion that was funded by the
tuition waiver scholarship. When reporting proportional hours to the
Arizona Board of Regents pursuant to this subdivision, each university and
community college shall round any fraction of a credit hour up to the nearest
whole number.

(
e
) identify
courses or programs that are not eligible for a tuition waiver scholarship
pursuant to this section, including:

(
i
) any course
for which a university of community college does not receive funding from this
state.

(
ii
) any course
or program that has extraordinary costs, as determined by the Arizona board of
regents or community college.

(
f
) Allow an
individual who fails to comply with the standards of satisfactory academic
progress as established by the university or community college in which the
individual enrolls to remain eligible for a tuition waiver scholarship if the
individual is experiencing hardship or shows good cause, including:

(
i
) that the
individual is suffering from a severe illness or other debilitating condition
that could affect the individual's academic performance.

(
ii
) that the
individual is responsible for the care of a sick, injured or needy person and
that the individual's provision of care could affect the individual's academic
performance.

(
iii
) the
individual's active duty or other service in the armed forces of the United
States or the individual's active duty in the Arizona National Guard or Arizona
Air National Guard.

(
iv
) any other
cause considered acceptable by the Arizona board of regents.

2. Adopt rules governing the
coordination of federal and state benefits for individuals who are eligible for
a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to this section.

C. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Community college"
means a community college as defined in section 15-1401.

2. "Program" means the Ernest
McFarland act tuition waiver scholarship program established by this section.

3. "University" means a
university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents.

END_STATUTE