Bill Text: NJ S168 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides tuition-free credits to certain institutions of higher education for certain law enforcement officers and firefighters and their spouses and dependents.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S168 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S168-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator VINCENT J. POLISTINA
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
Provides tuition-free credits to certain institutions of higher education for certain law enforcement officers and firefighters and their spouses and dependents.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning tuition assistance for certain law enforcement officers and firefighters and their spouses and dependents, and supplementing chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Firefighting unit" means a municipal fire department, a fire district, or an agency of a county or the State or a federal agency which is responsible for the control and extinguishment of fires.
"Retired firefighter" means a New Jersey resident who was employed as a permanent full-time member of a firefighting unit.
"Retired law enforcement officer" means a New Jersey resident who was employed as a permanent full-time member of any federal, State, county or municipal law enforcement agency, department, or division of those governments who was statutorily empowered to act for the detection, investigation, arrest, conviction, detention, or rehabilitation of persons violating criminal laws of this State or of the United States and was statutorily required to successfully complete a training course approved by the Police Training Commission pursuant to P.L.1961, c.56 (C.52:17B-66 et seq.), or certified by the commission as substantially equivalent to an approved course.
2. a. A retired law enforcement officer or a retired firefighter who retired in good standing as a result of a service-related injury or illness shall be permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at a public institution of higher education or a degree-granting proprietary institution and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free, for a maximum of eight semesters, provided that:
(1) the officer or firefighter retired because of a service-related disability pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-6), section 7 of P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-7), section 1 of P.L.1989, c.103 (C.43:16A-6.1), section 9 of P.L.1965, c.89 (C.53:5A-9), section 10 of P.L.1965, c.89 (C.53:5A-10), or any substantially similar statute governing the disability retirement of federal law enforcement officers or federal firefighters, provided that the officer or firefighter was a regularly employed, full-time law enforcement officer or firefighter for an aggregate of four or more years prior to his disability retirement;
(2) the retired officer or firefighter has been accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution or a course of graduate study and is enrolled as a graduate student in good standing at that institution, or has been accepted to a degree-granting program at a proprietary institution and is enrolled in good standing at that institution; and
(3) the retired officer or firefighter has applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the retired officer or firefighter is eligible.
b. The State shall reimburse a public institution of higher education or a degree-granting proprietary institution for the tuition of each eligible retired law enforcement officer and retired firefighter who enrolls in the institution pursuant to the provisions of this section to the extent that the tuition cost is not paid through the State student grants and scholarships and the federal student grants and scholarships for which the retired law enforcement officer or retired firefighter is eligible.
3. a. The dependent child or spouse of a law enforcement officer or a firefighter who was a New Jersey resident and who died in the line of duty shall be permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at a public institution of higher education or a degree-granting proprietary institution and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free, for a maximum of eight semesters, provided that the dependent child or spouse:
(1) is a New Jersey resident;
(2) meets the grade point average requirements of the institution's satisfactory academic progress policy in a degree program as determined by the institution's financial aid policy;
(3) is accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution. In the event that the spouse has completed an undergraduate degree program prior to the time of the law enforcement officer's or firefighter's death, the spouse shall be entitled to enroll, tuition-free, in a graduate degree program offered by a public institution of higher education, excluding any medical, dental, or law programs; and
(4) applies for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the dependent child or spouse is eligible.
b. The State shall reimburse each public institution of higher education or degree-granting proprietary institution for the costs of waiving tuition pursuant to the provisions of this section.
4. This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first be applicable in the first full academic
year next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that retired law enforcement officers and retired firefighters are permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at public institutions of higher education or degree-granting proprietary institutions and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free, for a maximum of eight semesters, provided that:
· the officer or firefighter retired because of a service-related injury or illness pursuant to certain enumerated sections of State law or any substantially similar statute governing the disability retirement of federal law enforcement officers or firefighters;
· the retired officer or firefighter is enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at the institution in good standing, or in a degree-granting program at a qualified proprietary institution in good standing; and
· the retired officer or firefighter has applied for all available federal and State student grants and scholarships for which the officer is eligible.
Under the bill, the State will reimburse an institution for the tuition of each eligible retired law enforcement officer and firefighter who enrolls in the institution to the extent that the tuition cost is not paid through federal and State student grants and scholarships.
The bill also provides that the dependent child or spouse of a law enforcement officer or a firefighter who was a New Jersey resident and who died in the line of duty is permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at a public institution of higher education or a degree-granting proprietary institution and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free, for a maximum of eight semesters, provided that the dependent child or spouse:
· is a New Jersey resident;
· meets the grade point average requirements of the institution's satisfactory academic progress policy in a degree program as determined by the institution's financial aid policy;
· is accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that institution. In the event that the spouse has completed an undergraduate degree program prior to the time of the law enforcement officer's or firefighter's death, the spouse shall be entitled to enroll, tuition-free, in a graduate degree program offered by a public institution of higher education, excluding any medical, dental, or law programs; and
· applies for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the dependent child or spouse is eligible.
Under the bill, the State will reimburse each public institution of higher education or degree-granting proprietary institution for the costs of waiving tuition pursuant to this act.
