New Jersey enacted a law for unemployed persons to attend a public university or college with the tuition being waived. I have included the address to a copy of the law. I contacted Thomas Edison State College and they said they were not participating with the program because their classes are online only.
There are colleges that are required to comply with this law that in addition to offering classes in literal classes also offer classes online. So my question revolves around the issue of whether a class online or in person is different in a legal sense since they both result in the same amount of college credit.
http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/legal/2008/40_N_J_R__2406_a_.pdf
The relevant part of the statute includes the provision that a person may attend if "available classroom space permits." Under the rules of statutory construction unless a term of phrase is defined the ordinary word and usage is what the legislature intended. A classroom is defined as a place where one physically appears for educational instruction. Therefore, Edison State College is operating within the statute.
