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educationstate

War Orphans Educational Assistance

State educational assistance for the child of a person who died during active federal military service. For deaths on or after 11 September 2001 it pays up to the highest resident undergraduate tuition rate at a regents university per year; for earlier deaths the statute caps assistance at $600 a year and $3,000 lifetime.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

State educational assistance for the child of a person who died during active federal military service. For deaths on or after 11 September 2001 it pays up to the highest resident undergraduate tuition rate at a regents university per year; for earlier deaths the statute caps assistance at $600 a year and $3,000 lifetime.

What it's worth: Post-9/11 deaths: up to the highest regents resident tuition rate per year, five years' worth lifetime; pre-9/11 deaths: $600 a year, $3,000 lifetime

  • The post-9/11 award is reduced by other state and federal education benefits, grants or scholarships the child receives, and cannot exceed established financial need.
  • Payments under the post-9/11 tier go to the postsecondary institution, which must be in this state.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are the child of the servicemember.
  • Your parent died during active federal military service.
  • You live in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1For a death on or after 11 September 2001: the parent must have maintained Iowa residence for at least six months immediately before entering active military service, the child must apply before age 31 and begin postsecondary education before reaching age 26, and must keep meeting the institution's academic progress standards.
  2. 2The post-9/11 award per year is the LOWEST of three numbers: the highest regents resident undergraduate tuition rate, that rate less other state and federal education benefits received, or the child's established financial need — with a lifetime total of five times the regents rate.
  3. 3For a death before 11 September 2001: the child must have lived in Iowa for the two years preceding the application; the assistance reaches tuition, fees, books, board and lodging but is capped at $600 per year and $3,000 lifetime.
Form
Application to the commission of veterans affairs, whose decision on eligibility is final
File with
Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs / commission of veterans affairs
Documents you will need
dd214
Annual
Claimed once a year.
CorrectionThe citation in circulation — Iowa Code §35.9, with a $5,500-per-year figure — is dead law: §35.9 was repealed by 2012 Acts ch 1059, and the current §35A.13(9) sets the post-9/11 cap at the highest regents resident undergraduate tuition rate per year (less other aid, within need), not a fixed dollar amount. The pre-9/11 tier's $600/$3,000 caps survive unchanged.

Sources

Why only one source type: The subsection itself, read in full from the legislature's Code PDF, states both tiers, every residency and age condition, the offset and need caps, and the finality of the commission's decision. The state agency pages list the program only by adjacent references.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.