178.411.  Definitions — duties of state board of education — fee waiver, effect on agency benefits — eligibility requirements — no guarantee of acceptance in or graduation from program — rules, promulgation, procedure. — 1.  As used in this section, the following terms mean:

  (1)  "Board", state board of education;

  (2)  "Course", any unit of study for which an institution awards credit hours toward the completion of an education program;

  (3)  "Fee", any tuition or fee or both charged by an institution for attendance at that institution by a resident of this state;

  (4)  "Fee waiver", the relinquishment by the institution of its charge of fees to a homemaker according to the provisions of this section;

  (5)  "Homemaker", an individual whose principal job has been homemaking, who has lost his or her main source of income because of divorce, separation, death or disability of a spouse, long-term family income below poverty level, or loss of eligibility for public assistance, and who has not been employed on a full-time basis of forty hours per week for at least three years.  Such full-time employment shall not include seasonal occupations;

  (6)  "Institution", a public area vocational-technical school or a public community college as established in this chapter;

  (7)  "Training program ready", the completion by a homemaker of a comprehensive vocational assessment of interests, aptitudes and abilities inventories or tests to ensure appropriate vocational educational placement from an approved vocational assessment/evaluation program, including the completion of a vocational orientation involving career decision-making activities, career exploration into nontraditional programs, new technologies and high demand occupations;

  (8)  "Vocational education program", an educational program for less than a baccalaureate degree, the controlling purpose of which is to prepare for profitable employment.

  2.  The board shall be the administrative agency for the implementation of this section.  The board shall:

  (1)  Promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this section;

  (2)  Determine the procedures necessary for a homemaker to apply for and receive a fee waiver and provide the necessary forms;

  (3)  Determine eligibility guidelines for an institution to follow in the event that more homemakers apply for fee waivers in vocational education programs than the institution can accommodate in any particular enrollment period;

  (4)  Determine guidelines for individual eligibility and minimum standards in order for a homemaker to become and to remain eligible to receive a fee waiver, including becoming training program ready;

  (5)  Distribute annual grants to the institutions within the amounts appropriated therefor according to the provisions of this section.

  3.  No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024.

  4.  Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, an institution may waive the fee required for attendance in a vocational education program by a homemaker.  Unless otherwise required by federal law, the receipt of the fee waiver shall not cause a reduction from any other agency benefits while the individual is enrolled in a vocational education program and for a period of six months after exit to full-time unsubsidized employment.

  5.  Within the limits of the amounts appropriated therefor, the board shall award an annual grant to each institution for fee waivers.  The appropriated amount shall be divided between the area vocational-technical schools and the community colleges and shall be distributed according to the state plan for federal vocational education funds.

  6.  A homemaker may receive a fee waiver from an institution if at the time of application and throughout the period during which the homemaker is receiving such waiver the homemaker is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, is a resident of the state of Missouri as defined by the board, and is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment in a vocational education program the purpose of which is to prepare for gainful employment.  In no event shall a homemaker receive additional fee waivers beyond the completion of the vocational education program for which the homemaker is enrolled.  A homemaker may change from one program to another prior to completion of the original program without loss of eligibility; provided, however, that the total credit hours for which fees are waived shall not exceed the equivalent credit hours of a community college associate's degree.

  7.  Nothing in this section shall be construed as a promise or guarantee that a homemaker will be admitted to an institution or to a particular program within that institution, that a homemaker will be allowed to continue after having been admitted, or will be graduated from a program at an institution.  Each institution's rules and policies on student advancement shall apply to homemakers receiving fee waivers.  An institution may subsequently refuse to waive fees if the homemaker has not made satisfactory progress or has withdrawn from the program prior to completion of the course without cause according to the institution's rules.