(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this part to the contrary, a student who is a Tennessee citizen and a dependent child of a military parent shall be eligible for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship as an entering freshman, if the student meets all eligibility requirements for the scholarship, except that, while the parent is a military parent, the student does not reside in Tennessee immediately preceding the date of application for financial assistance; and the student did not graduate from an eligible high school, as defined in § 49-4-902, graduate from a Tennessee high school that is not an eligible high school, complete high school in a Tennessee home school program or obtain a GED® or HiSET® from a state-approved institution or organization. If the student graduated from a high school outside of this state, then the high school shall be considered an eligible high school for purposes of determining the student's eligibility for a scholarship, if the school was operated by the government of the United States, accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association for the state in which the school is located, or accredited by an accrediting association recognized by the foreign nation in which the school is located. If the student graduated from a high school outside of this state that does not meet the requirements of this section to be considered an eligible high school, completed high school in a home school program or obtained a GED® or HiSET®, then the student shall meet the eligibility requirements for Tennessee HOPE scholarships for students graduating from Tennessee high schools that are not eligible high schools.

(b) As used in this section:

(1) “Dependent child” means a natural or adopted child or stepchild whom a military parent claims as a dependent for federal income tax purposes; provided, however, that the child is under twenty-one (21) years of age and resides in another state or nation only while the military parent is engaged in active military service, on full-time national guard duty or actively employed by the department of defense;

(2) “Military parent” means a parent of a dependent child who is:

(A) A member of the armed forces engaged in active military service of the United States and stationed on active duty outside of this state;

(B) A member of the Tennessee national guard engaged in active military service of the United States and stationed on active duty outside of this state; or

(C) A full-time civilian employee of the department of defense working outside of this state; and

(3) “Tennessee national guard” means any federally recognized unit of the Tennessee army and air national guard.

(c) This section shall only apply to:

(1)

(A) A dependent child of a member of the armed forces or Tennessee national guard whose parent's home of record, at the time of entry into military service, was determined to be Tennessee; or

(B) A dependent child of a member of the armed forces or Tennessee national guard who qualifies to be classified as an in-state student under regulations promulgated by the board of regents pursuant to § 49-8-104, at the time of application to the eligible postsecondary institution; and

(2) Dependent children of full-time civilian employees of the United States department of defense, who are legal residents of this state.