My husband is alive and rated 100%. Do I really get 150 hours of tuition?

On the text of §54.341(a-2), yes, provided the total and permanent disability is from a service-connected injury and you are classified as a Texas resident. Take his VA letter and your marriage certificate to the institution's veteran services office.

He holds IU rather than a 100% rating. Does that count?

The statute names individual unemployability alongside total and permanent disability. Bring a letter that shows the IU determination specifically — the Benefit Summary Letter has a tick box for it.

Do our children get hours as well?

Under §54.341(b), yes — each child has their own 150-hour entitlement on the same five grounds, and that route has no age cap. It is separate from the Legacy transfer, which does cap at 26.

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Hazlewood Tuition Exemption for a Veteran's Spouse

A full 150 credit hours of tuition and most fees at a Texas public institution for the spouse of a veteran who died in service, died of a service-connected cause, is missing in action, or is 100% disabled or holds IU.

Verified August 17, 2026

What this benefit is

The Hazlewood Act is not only a veteran's benefit. §54.341(a-2) gives the SPOUSE of a qualifying veteran their own exemption of up to 150 credit hours of tuition and most fees at any Texas public institution.

It is a full entitlement in its own right. It is not the veteran's leftover hours, and using it takes nothing away from the veteran or from a Legacy child.

What it's worth: Up to 150 credit hours of tuition and most fees at a Texas public institution

150 hours at a four-year public university is well over $30,000 in tuition alone. It does not cover living expenses, books, or supply fees.
This is your own 150-hour entitlement, not a share of the veteran's. It is not reduced by hours the veteran used.

Who is entitled to it

The spouse or surviving spouse of a veteran, where one of five things is true of the veteran:
they died while in service; they were killed in action or in the line of duty; they are missing in action; their death is documented as caused by a service-connected illness or injury; or they are totally and permanently disabled, or hold a determination of individual unemployability, from a service-connected injury.
And who is classified as a Texas resident by their institution.

Exceptions

The cap is a cumulative 150 credit hours counted from Fall 1995 against your own exemption. Tex. Educ. Code §54.341(g)

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.

The thing most people get wrong

The veteran does not have to have died

Four of the five routes involve a death, which is why almost everyone assumes this is a survivor benefit. The fifth does not. A LIVING veteran who is totally and permanently disabled — or who holds a determination of individual unemployability — from a service-connected injury opens a full 150-hour exemption for their spouse, and separately for each of their children under §54.341(b). If you are married to a 100% or IU veteran and paying tuition, this is very probably the largest unclaimed thing on this site for your household.

How to claim it

Deadline: Set by your institution, per term

1Work out which of the five qualifying situations applies to the veteran — the evidence differs for each.
2Take that evidence and proof of the marriage to your institution's veteran services office with form TVC-ED-1.
3Re-certify each term on form TVC-ED-2.

Form: TVC-ED-1
File with: The veteran services office at your Texas public institution
Documents you will need: dd214 · proof of relationship · va disability award letter · death certificate
Apply each term: Your institution re-checks this every term.

Common mistakes that cost people this benefit

Assuming it only applies if the veteran died. The 100%/IU route covers living veterans and reaches far more families than the four death routes combined.
Assuming you are sharing the veteran's 150 hours. You are not — this is your own entitlement.
Enrolling at a private institution. Texas public institutions only.
Not checking the hours balance first. The 150-hour cap is counted from Fall 1995 against your own record.

Worth knowingThe veteran does not have to have died. A living veteran who is totally and permanently disabled, or who holds a determination of individual unemployability, from a service-connected injury opens this route for their spouse. That is the least-known of the five and reaches the most people.

Worth knowingA spouse's exemption is their own 150 hours. It is not the veteran's unused balance, and using it does not reduce what the veteran or a Legacy child can claim.

Questions people ask

My husband is alive and rated 100%. Do I really get 150 hours of tuition?: On the text of §54.341(a-2), yes, provided the total and permanent disability is from a service-connected injury and you are classified as a Texas resident. Take his VA letter and your marriage certificate to the institution's veteran services office.
He holds IU rather than a 100% rating. Does that count?: The statute names individual unemployability alongside total and permanent disability. Bring a letter that shows the IU determination specifically — the Benefit Summary Letter has a tick box for it.
Do our children get hours as well?: Under §54.341(b), yes — each child has their own 150-hour entitlement on the same five grounds, and that route has no age cap. It is separate from the Legacy transfer, which does cap at 26.

Sources

authority · statuteTex. Educ. Code §54.341(a-2)
operating · published policyTexas Veterans Commission — Hazlewood Act

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