(a) Amount of scholarship.

(1) Subject to a maximum annual award of $20,000, a scholarship award for each school year will consist of:

(i) Tuition;

(ii) Reasonable educational expenses, including required fees, books, supplies, and required educational equipment;

(iii) Reasonable living expenses for the academic year as documented in the school's financial aid budget; and

(iv) For purposes of this section, “required fees” means those fees that are charged by the school to all students pursuing a similar curriculum, and “required educational equipment” means educational equipment that must be purchased by all students pursuing a similar curriculum at that school.

(2) The Director may enter into an agreement with the school in which the participant is enrolled for the direct payment of tuition and reasonable educational expenses on the participant's behalf.

(b) Payment of scholarship: Leave-of-absence; repeated course work. The Director will suspend scholarship payments to or on behalf of a participant if the school:

(1) Approves a leave-of-absence for the participant for health, personal, or other reasons; or

(2) Requires the participant to repeat course work for which the Director has previously made scholarship payments under §68b.6. However, if the repeated course work does not delay the participant's graduation date, scholarship payments will continue except for any additional costs relating to the repeated course work. Any scholarship payments suspended under this paragraph will be resumed by the Director upon notification by the school that the participant has returned from the leave-of-absence or has completed the repeated course work and is pursuing as a full-time student the course of study for which the scholarship was awarded.