Veterans Alliance is privately owned and operated to serve veterans. We are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
← All West Virginia benefits
educationstate

Tuition and Fees Waived for the Family of Someone Killed in the Line of Duty

West Virginia waives UNDERGRADUATE TUITION AND FEES at state institutions of higher education for the child or spouse of a WEST VIRGINIA-RESIDENT National Guard member, reserve component member, or person on FEDERAL OR STATE ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY killed in the line of duty. SPECIAL AND LABORATORY FEES AND PARKING ARE EXCLUDED — so it covers tuition and the ordinary fees rather than literally everything. State active duty is inside it, which not every state's equivalent covers.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

West Virginia waives UNDERGRADUATE TUITION AND FEES at state institutions of higher education for the child or spouse of a WEST VIRGINIA-RESIDENT National Guard member, reserve component member, or person on FEDERAL OR STATE ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY killed in the line of duty. SPECIAL AND LABORATORY FEES AND PARKING ARE EXCLUDED — so it covers tuition and the ordinary fees rather than literally everything. State active duty is inside it, which not every state's equivalent covers.

What it's worth: Undergraduate tuition and fees waived at state institutions

  • Waives UNDERGRADUATE TUITION AND FEES at state institutions of higher education.
  • SPECIAL AND LABORATORY FEES AND PARKING ARE EXCLUDED.
  • The member must have been a WEST VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
  • It covers NATIONAL GUARD members, RESERVE COMPONENT members, and persons on FEDERAL OR STATE ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY.
  • STATE ACTIVE DUTY IS INSIDE IT — not every state's equivalent covers a death on a state activation.
  • It reaches the CHILD OR SPOUSE.
  • Statutory basis: W. Va. Code §18B-10-7.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are in one of the groups the waiver reaches.
  • The member was killed in the line of duty.
  • West Virginia state institutions.

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. 1Apply through the institution, citing W. Va. Code §18B-10-7.
  2. 2If the death occurred on STATE active duty — a flood or storm activation, for instance — apply anyway; that is covered.
  3. 3Have documentation of the line-of-duty determination.
  4. 4Budget for special and laboratory fees and parking; those are outside the waiver.
  5. 5Ask how it interacts with federal survivor education benefits.
Form
Application through the state institution
File with
Your West Virginia state institution
Annual
Claimed once a year.
Worth knowingA death on state active duty is often outside federal survivor benefits. West Virginia covering it here is the difference between something and nothing for those families.

Sources

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