SB 71 - This act establishes the "First Responder Recruitment and Retention Act" to provide free college tuition for first responders and their legal dependents. The act defines a "first responder" as any person who is trained and authorized by law or rule to render emergency medical assistance or treatment, including, but not limited to, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other professionals described in the act. A first responder shall be entitled to a waiver of 100% of the resident tuition charges of a public institution of higher education if the first responder presents to the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) verification of his or her current, valid license in a profession specified in the act, if applicable, along with a certificate of verification signed by his or her employer verifying that the individual is a first responder who is trained and authorized to render emergency medical assistance or treatment. The first responder shall also meet all admission requirements of the public institution of higher education and pursue an associate degree or baccalaureate degree that relates to a career as a first responder. Each year the first responder or legal dependent applies for and receives the tuition waiver, the first responder shall file with DHEWD documentation showing proof of employment as a first responder and proof of residence in Missouri.
A legal dependent of a first responder is also eligible for a tuition waiver if he or she executes an agreement with the public institution of higher education he or she attends outlining the terms and conditions of the tuition waiver, including the legal dependent's commitment to reside in Missouri for the next five years, as well as a commitment provide a copy of his or her state income tax return annually to DHEWD in order to prove his or her residency in Missouri. The agreement shall also include a provision that if the tuition waiver recipient fails to provide proof of residency in Missouri for the five-year period following the use of the tuition waiver, he or she shall repay the public institution of higher education the amount of tuition that was waived. Finally, the agreement shall provide that any residency, filing, or payment obligation incurred by the tuition waiver recipient under the act is canceled in the event of the tuition waiver recipient's total and permanent disability or death.
The legal dependent shall satisfy certain other criteria to be eligible for a tuition waiver. The legal dependent shall not have previously earned a baccalaureate degree, and he or she shall meet all admission requirements of the public institution of higher education he or she wishes to attend. The legal dependent shall also complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and provide verification of the first responder's eligibility for the tuition waiver to the public institution of higher education, as provided in the act.
A first responder or his or her legal dependent may receive a tuition waiver under the act for up to five years if he or she otherwise continues to be eligible for the waiver. The five years of tuition waiver eligibility starts once the first responder or his or her legal dependent applies for and receives the tuition waiver for the first time and is available to such first responder or legal dependent for the next five consecutive years.
A public institution of higher education shall waive 100% of the first responder's or legal dependent's tuition remaining due after subtracting awarded federal financial aid grants and state scholarships and grants for an eligible first responder or legal dependent.
An application for a tuition waiver shall include a verification of the first responder's satisfaction of the requirements of the act, including proof of the first responder's employment and residency status. The first responder shall include such verification when the first responder or the first responder's legal dependent is applying to the public institution of higher education in order to obtain a tuition waiver upon initial enrollment.
The death of a first responder in the line of duty shall not disqualify such first responder's otherwise eligible legal dependent from receiving the tuition waiver. In such a case, in lieu of submitting verification that the first responder is employed as a first responder, the legal dependent shall submit a statement attesting that, at the time of death, the first responder satisfied the requirements of the act, and the first responder died in the line of duty, as described in the act.
Within 45 days after receipt of a completed application for a tuition waiver, the public institution of higher education shall send written notice of the first responder's or legal dependent's eligibility or ineligibility for the tuition waiver. If the first responder or legal dependent is determined not to be eligible for the tuition waiver, the notice shall include the reason or reasons for such determination.
The five-year residency requirement for a legal dependent who receives a tuition waiver begins once the legal dependent applies for and receives the tuition waiver and continues until the tuition waiver recipient (a) completes the five-year tuition waiver eligibility period, (b) completes a baccalaureate degree, (c) completes an associate degree and notifies DHEWD that he or she does not intend to pursue a baccalauareate degree or additional associate degree using tuition waivers, or (d) notifies DHEWD that he or she does not plan to use additional tuition waivers.
OLIVIA SHANNON