Budget Amendment ID: FY2017-S4-236.1-R1

Redraft Further EDU 236.1

Tuition and Fee Waiver for Children of Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

Messrs. Moore, Fattman, Tarr, Timilty and Rush moved that the amendment be amended by striking out the text and inserting in place thereof the following:-

by inserting after section 6 the following 2 sections:-

“SECTION 6A. Section 16 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the ninth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following 3 paragraphs:-

There shall be a public service scholarship program to provide scholarships to children of certain veterans and public employees for tuition at public or independent institutions of higher education in the commonwealth to pursue undergraduate studies.  An individual shall be eligible for the scholarship program if that individual is: (i) a child of a deceased public employee who, while in the performance of the public employee’s duties, including authorized training duty, and as a result of incident, accident or violence, was killed or sustained injuries that were the direct and proximate cause of the employee’s death; (ii) a child of a prisoner of war or military or service person missing in action in Southeast Asia whose wartime service is credited to the commonwealth and whose service was between February 1, 1955 and the termination of the Vietnam campaign; or (iii) a surviving child of a veteran, as defined in section 7 of chapter 4, whose service was credited to the commonwealth and who was killed in action or otherwise died as a result of that service. As used in this section, “deceased public employee” shall mean a public employee working for a state or county government, a public institution of higher education in the commonwealth, or a municipality, public school department or public school district or public authority who, while in the performance of the public employee’s duties and as a result of incident, accident or violence, was killed or sustained injuries that were the direct and proximate cause of the public employee’s death.

Upon admittance for undergraduate study at a public institution of higher education as provided in section 5, an eligible surviving child shall be entitled to a full public service scholarship for student charges due for tuition, mandatory fees and room and board for on-campus housing during the period of attendance, subject to any restriction included in the guidelines established by the board to govern this program; provided, however, that the child shall complete and submit a free application for federal student aid and shall accept any federal grant that the child is awarded  as a result of the child’s completion and submission of the application. A full scholarship awarded under this section shall be reduced by the amount of federal grants awarded to the child.

A full public service scholarship shall only be permitted during the period in which the eligible child is enrolled as a full-time student at a qualifying public institution of higher education. No child who is otherwise eligible shall receive a full scholarship through the program if: (i) the child has previously been awarded a degree from a public or private college, university or other institution of higher education; (ii) the child fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress during the child’s attendance at a qualifying public institution of higher education after receiving a full scholarship; or (iii) the deceased parent was not a resident of the commonwealth at the time of entry or continuance into active and full-time military service or service as a public employee.

The board shall establish general guidelines and regulations for the application and administration of full scholarships at qualifying public institutions of higher education established under this section.  The scholarships shall be awarded by the board pursuant to the guidelines established to govern this program. The board shall determine the value of the scholarships.

SECTION 6B. Section 19½ of said chapter 15A is hereby repealed.”.