Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 26-179 – Tuition and fees reimbursement; eligibility; exemption

A. Any qualified national guardsman, spouse of a national guardsman, legal dependent of a national guardsman or employee of the department of emergency and military affairs who has completed a semester as a full-time or part-time graduate or undergraduate student at a public or private postsecondary educational institution for which credit toward a degree or diploma is granted or a certificated vocational technical school in this state may apply for a tuition and fees reimbursement. The adjutant general shall annually adopt policies and procedures to allocate the appropriated monies in a manner consistent with the personnel needs of the Arizona national guard and the department, except that no right to reimbursement exists beyond the amounts appropriated by the legislature. The appropriations made in this section are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations, except that all monies remaining unexpended or unencumbered ninety days after the close of that fiscal year revert to the state general fund.
B. To be eligible for tuition and fees reimbursement, a national guardsman shall meet all of the following:
1. 1. Be a bona fide member of an Arizona army national guard unit or Arizona air national guard unit throughout each semester for which the member applies for such reimbursement.
2. 2. Have satisfactorily completed initial active duty service.
3. 3. Have satisfactorily performed duty on return from initial active duty training, including a minimum ninety percent attendance on scheduled drill dates and at annual training with the member's parent unit.
4. 4. Maintain an average academic grade of "C" or better for each semester.
5. 5. Not be eligible for a certificate of eligibility and benefits under the veterans' readjustment benefits act of 1966 for the same period.
C. To be eligible for tuition and fees reimbursement, a spouse or dependent of a national guardsman shall meet all of the following:
1. 1. Be the legal spouse or legal dependent of an Arizona national guardsman who meets the criteria under subsection B, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this section.
2. 2. Be registered as the legal spouse or legal dependent of an Arizona national guardsman in the defense enrollment eligibility reporting system or its successor system.
3. 3. Maintain an average academic grade of "C" or better for each semester.
D. To be eligible for tuition and fees reimbursement, an employee of the department of emergency and military affairs shall meet all of the following:
1. 1. Be a bona fide employee of the department throughout each semester for which the member applies for reimbursement.
2. 2. Have a current job performance evaluation of "meets expectations" or its equivalent.
3. 3. Maintain an average academic grade of "C" or better for each semester.
4. 4. Meet the requirements prescribed by the department of administration for tuition reimbursement for education and the policies and procedures adopted by the adjutant general, including any requirement to remain employed with the department of emergency and military affairs for a defined period of time or be required to return all or a portion of the amount of tuition and fees reimbursement received.