Section 3. Postsecondary Educational Gratuity Program.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established the Postsecondary Educational Gratuity Program for children of police officers, firefighters, correction employees, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and National Guard members and certain other individuals who are on Federal or State active military duty who are residents of this Commonwealth who are killed while acting in the performance of their duties. ((a) amended Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1663, No.210)
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) Police officers shall be deemed to have been killed
in the performance of their duties if death results from job-
related injuries sustained or inflicted while performing any
of the following:
(i) Answering an emergency call.
(ii) Conducting interrogations of crime suspects or
interrogations pursuant to a response to an emergency
call.
(iii) Conducting vehicle stops for traffic
violations.
(iv) Actively responding to requests for assistance
from the public.
(v) Maintaining order and security at the scene of
an emergency.
(2) Firefighters shall be deemed to have been killed in
the performance of their duties if death results from job-
related injuries sustained or inflicted while performing any
of the following:
(i) Being present at the scene of a fire or going to
and from a fire. In the case of volunteer firefighters,
going to and from a fire shall include traveling from and
directly returning to the firefighter's home, place of
business or other location where the firefighter was when
the fire call or alarm was received for a fire which the
firefighter's volunteer fire company attended.
(ii) Answering an emergency call.
(iii) Maintaining order and security at the scene of
an emergency.
(3) A member of the National Guard shall be deemed to
have been killed in the performance of his or her duties if
his or her death results from performance of a duty required
by his or her orders or commander while in an official duty
status authorized under Federal or State law.
(4) Correction employees shall be deemed to have been
killed in the performance of their duties if death results
from job-related injuries sustained or inflicted while
maintaining order and security or otherwise carrying out
their duties at a correctional facility.
(4.1) Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs shall be deemed to
have been killed in the performance of their duties if death
results from job-related injuries sustained or inflicted
while maintaining order and security or otherwise carrying
out their duties as a sheriff or deputy sheriff.
(4.2) An individual who is on Federal or State active
military duty who is a resident of this Commonwealth shall be
deemed to have been killed in the performance of duty if
death results from performance of a duty required by his or
her orders or commander while in an official duty status.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,
deaths which occur as the direct and proximate result of
preexisting physical conditions, diseases or illnesses shall
be excluded from eligibility under this section.
(6) Any child of a police officer, firefighter,
correction employee, sheriff, deputy sheriff or National
Guard member killed in the performance of his or her duties
shall be eligible for an educational gratuity provided the
child is 25 years of age or younger at the time of
application for participation in this program, meets all
admission requirements of the community college or State-
owned or State-related institution to which application is
made and is enrolled as a full-time student at a community
college or a State-owned or State-related institution.
(7) A child who is 25 years of age or younger at the
time of the child's application for participation in this
program and who meets all other eligibility requirements may
receive an educational gratuity for up to five years provided
the child otherwise continues to be eligible for
participation.
((b) amended Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1663, No.210)
(c) Scope of benefit.--
(1) The benefit available under this section shall be
provided only for full-time students who are pursuing
undergraduate studies leading to an associate degree or a
baccalaureate degree.
(2) A child becomes eligible for this benefit after he
or she has applied for available scholarships and Federal and
State grants to cover tuition and room and board costs. The
child must provide a record of application for such financial
aid to the community college or State-owned or State-related
institution to which he or she is applying.
(3) A community college or a State-owned or State-
related institution shall waive all remaining tuition and
room and board charges (total tuition, room and board and
fees minus awarded scholarships and Federal and State grants)
for an eligible child during the time the child is enrolled
as a full-time student provided the child meets all
requirements for admission to the community college or State-
owned or State-related institution and during the child's
enrollment complies with all requirements of the institution
for continued attendance and award of an associate degree or
a baccalaureate degree.
(d) Administration.--
(1) Copies of all police officer and firefighter death
certifications received by the Department of General Services
under the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), referred to
as the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits
Act, shall be provided by the Department of General Services
to PHEAA within 20 days of their receipt.
(2) Written notification of the death of any correction
employee killed in the performance of his or her duties shall
be submitted to PHEAA by the Secretary of Corrections within
20 days of the death of the employee.
(2.1) Written notification of the death of any sheriff
or deputy sheriff killed in the performance of his or her
duties shall be submitted to PHEAA by the county
commissioners of the county in which the sheriff was elected
or deputy sheriff was employed within 20 days of the death of
the employee.
(3) Written notification of the death of any member of
the National Guard or other individual who is on Federal or
State active military duty who is a resident of this
Commonwealth killed in the performance of his or her duties
shall be submitted to PHEAA by the Adjutant General of the
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs within 20 days of
the death of the National Guard member.
(4) Applications for an educational gratuity shall be
submitted to PHEAA by the child or the surviving parent or
guardian of the child, together with a certified copy of the
child's birth certificate or adoption record or other
documentation of birth or adoption acceptable to PHEAA. The
application shall include a copy of the child's letter of
acceptance at a community college or a State-owned or State-
related institution. If no death certification has been
received from the Department of General Services, Secretary
of Corrections or Adjutant General of the Department of
Military and Veterans Affairs, PHEAA may elect to accept
other documentation certifying that the child's parent was a
police officer, firefighter, correction employee or National
Guard member killed during the performance of his or her
duties.
(5) Within 30 days of receipt of a completed
application, PHEAA shall send written notice to the child and
the community college or State-owned or State-related
institution of the child's eligibility or noneligibility for
participation in this program. If the child is determined not
to be eligible for an educational gratuity, the notice shall
include the reason or reasons for such determination and an
indication that an appeal of PHEAA's determination may be
made pursuant to 2 Pa.C.S. (relating to administrative law
and procedure).
(6) Upon receipt of notification of the child's
eligibility from PHEAA, a community college or a State-owned
or State-related institution is prohibited from charging the
child or the child's parent or guardian any tuition fee or
room and board charge. If moneys have been received by the
community college or the State-owned or State-related
institution for these purposes, those moneys must be refunded
in full within 30 days of receipt by the community college or
the State-owned or State-related institution of the notice of
the child's eligibility.
(7) Each community college or State-owned or State-
related institution at which an eligible child is enrolled
shall notify PHEAA upon the child's graduation or when the
child is no longer enrolled at the community college or
State-owned or State-related institution.
((d) amended Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1663, No.210)