                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD STATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; GRANTS (§ 23.1-610)

A. Subject to regulations as prescribed by the Adjutant General, any individual
who (i) is a member of the Virginia National Guard and has a minimum remaining
obligation of two years, (ii) has satisfactorily completed required initial
active duty service, (iii) is satisfactorily performing duty in accordance with
regulations of the National Guard, and (iv) is enrolled in and in good standing
at any public institution of higher education or accredited nonprofit private
institution of higher education whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate
or graduate education and not to provide religious training or theological
education is eligible for a grant in the amount of the difference between the
full cost of tuition and any other educational benefits for which he is eligible
as a member of the National Guard. Grants provided under this section shall be
subject to limitation based on the amount of funds appropriated for such
purpose. If applications for grants exceed the amount of funding appropriated,
the Department of Military Affairs (the Department) shall issue grants to
eligible recipients based on the order in which applications were received.

B. Application for a grant shall be made to the Department no later than 30 days
prior to the beginning of an academic semester. The Department shall determine
whether an applicant is eligible for the grant as described in subsection A and
communicate acceptance and any additional requirements determined by the
Department in writing no later than 30 days after receipt of an application.
Upon acceptance, grant funds shall be disbursed to the applicable institution of
higher education for credit against the recipient&#8217;s student account.

C. Any member of the Virginia National Guard shall be eligible to receive a
grant under this section if such member has two years remaining on his service
obligation to the Virginia National Guard as of the last day of the last term or
semester for which tuition assistance is requested. Service in the inactive
National Guard, the active duty or reserve forces of the United States, or the
National Guard of any other state shall not count as applicable service toward
fulfilling this service obligation. Federal active duty mobilizations occurring
while still a member of the Virginia National Guard and state active duty for
the Commonwealth shall count toward the two-year service obligation.

D. The Department may utilize grant funding in order to recruit qualified
applicants for service in the Virginia National Guard. The yearly funding amount
for such recruitment shall be at the discretion of the Adjutant General and the
Department and not exceed $50,000 per fiscal year.

HISTORY: 1996, cc. 931, 981, § 23-7.4:2; 1998, cc. 62, 79; 1999, cc. 424, 437;
2000, c. 196; 2001, c. 483; 2004, cc. 501, 520; 2006, cc. 783, 797; 2007, cc.
76, 102, 112; 2008, c. 723; 2009, c. 470; 2011, c. 376; 2013, cc. 166, 243, 302;
2014, cc. 341, 762; 2016, c. 588; 2022, cc. 604, 605, 691, 748; 2023, c. 638;
2025, cc. 474, 494.