I do agree that they should just make a cutoff date and that's it. 22? I think that would be a good age.
I think the thought behind the student vs non student thing is that students are still financially dependent on their parents. A kid in the military or doing an apprenticeship isn't. In any case, the number of man hours that the pass bureau uses to attempt to take away pass benefits from kids over 19 would serve us better in our profit sharing accounts and get rid of one more ridiculous hoop that parents have to jump through.
True story, my kid's college doesn't use the Texas school calendar, so there was a 3 week gap where she wasn't officially enrolled in school according to the pass bureau that just happened to lie in January when they kick everyone off every year. She needed her benefits to go back to school in the spring.
After attempting to resolve this using logic and evidence with the pass bureau, I took my grievance to my chief pilot. He just gave me must ride passes for her because he said he was powerless to do anything to override their decision.
Let that sink in. What exactly does that department do for the company's bottom line?