STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 5, 1968

Howard H. Hanson
Director, Service to the Blind
Pierre, South Dakota 57501

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 68-13

Blind students entitled to free tuition and fees at institutions under the supervision of the Board of Regents

Dear Mr. Hanson:

You have requested an opinion on the following factual situation:

"SDC 15.0717-1 provides for free tuition and fees for blind students attending institutions under the supervision of the Board of Regents. Many of the institutions contend that the 'fees' are not covered under this exemption. Fees that are imposed by student body associations and other organizations which are not directly a part of the University of Administration are charged either this agency or the student attending college under this provision."

You have asked the following specific question:

"Under the provisions of the SDC 15.0717-1 as amended, are fees to be considered a part of tuition and thus exempt for blind students qualifying under the provisions of this act?"

SDC 1960 Supp. 15.0717·1 reads in part as follows:

"Any blind resident of this state who possesses the entrance requirements for admission to any educational institution of the state under the supervision of the State Board of Regents shall be permitted to enter and pursue any course of study offered by such institution without the payment of tuition, library fees, registration fees, or any other fees that other students are required to pay directly to such institution until he or she has received one hundred ninety semester hours of credit or two hundred eighty-five quarter hours of credit;…provided further that such exemption shall not apply to any charges made for private instruction . . .”

The writer of that request for an opinion, who is also the writer of this opinion, contended that the words "without the payment of any charges or costs therefore" referred back to the words "free tuition" which would therefore entitle such children to attend without the payment of any tuition, however, the Attorney General held that such children were not only entitled to free tuition, but were also entitled to pursue any course or courses without the payment of any charges or costs such as laboratory fees, medical fees, etc. The Attorney General concluded that the intent of such statute was to relieve such children of any fixed charges or costs imposed by the institution for pursuing any course or courses.

It is my opinion that the wording of SDC 1960 Supp. 15.0717-1 is more specific in exempting a blind student from the payment of tuition and fees than was the statute dealing with children of deceased veterans; therefore, it is my opinion that a blind student that qualifies under the provisions of SDC 1960 Supp. 15.0717-1 is exempt from the payment of any tuition and fees that are required to be paid by regular students, including student association fees, if such fees are collected by the institution as the result of the approval of such fee by the Board of Regents.

Respectfully submitted,

Frank L. Farrar
Attorney General