Section 18-601 - Scholarships for prisoners of war, children of certain veterans, and children or spouses of public safety employees [Amendment subject to abrogation].
§ 18-601. Scholarships for prisoners of war, children of certain veterans, and children or spouses of public safety employees [Amendment subject to abrogation].
(a) Definitions.-
(1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) "Disabled public safety employee" means a State or local public safety employee who sustains an injury in the line of duty that:
(i) Precludes the individual from continuing to serve or be employed as a State or local public safety employee; and
(ii) In the case of a volunteer member of a fire department or ambulance or rescue company or squad, precludes the member from continuing to be employed in the nonpublic safety occupation in which the member is engaged at the time of the injury.
(3) "Surviving spouse" means a person who has not remarried.
(4) "State or local public safety employee" means a person who is:
(i) A career or volunteer member of a:
1. Fire department;
2. Ambulance company or squad; or
3. Rescue company or squad;
(ii) A law enforcement officer;
(iii) A correctional officer; or
(iv) A member of the Maryland National Guard who was a resident of this State at the time of death.
(5) "Victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks" means a Maryland resident who was killed as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the attack on the Pentagon in Virginia, or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
(b) Established.- There is a program of scholarships that are awarded by eligible postsecondary institutions under this section.
(c) Name of Program.- The Program is the Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program.
(d) Eligibility.- A person may apply to an eligible postsecondary institution for a scholarship under this section if the person:
(1) Except as provided in item (3)(iii) of this subsection and subsection (e) of this section, is a resident of Maryland;
(2) (i) Is accepted for admission or enrolled in the regular undergraduate, graduate or professional program at an eligible institution; or
(ii) Is enrolled in a 2-year terminal certificate program in which the course work is acceptable for transfer credit for an accredited baccalaureate program in an eligible institution; and
(3) (i) Is at least 16 years old and a son or daughter of a member of the armed forces who:
1. Died as a result of military service after December 7, 1941;
2. Suffered a service connected 100% permanent disability after December 7, 1941; or
3. Was declared to be a prisoner of war or missing in action, if that occurred on or after January 1, 1960, as a result of the Vietnam conflict, and if the child was born prior to or while the parent was a prisoner of war or missing in action;
(ii) Was a prisoner of war or missing in action, if that occurred on or after January 1, 1960, as a result of the Vietnam conflict and was a resident of this State at the time the person was declared to be a prisoner of war or missing in action;
(iii) 1. A. Is at least 16 years old and a son or daughter of any State or local public safety employee killed in the line of duty; or
B. Is the surviving spouse of any State or local public safety employee killed in the line of duty; and
2. Is a resident of any state;
(iv) 1. Is a disabled public safety employee;
2. Is at least 16 years old and a son or daughter of a disabled public safety employee who sustains an injury in the line of duty that renders the public safety employee 100% disabled; or
3. Is the surviving spouse of a disabled public safety employee who sustains an injury in the line of duty that renders the public safety employee 100% disabled;
(v) Is a veteran, as defined under § 9-901 of the State Government Article, who:
1. Suffers a service connected disability of 25% or greater; and
2. Has exhausted or is no longer eligible for federal veterans' educational benefits; or
(vi) Is at least 16 years old and a son or daughter of or the surviving spouse of a victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
(e) Eligibility - Individual graduates from high school in 2004.- For a person who graduates from a high school in this State in 2004, that person shall be eligible under subsection (d)(1) of this section if the person:
(1) Is a resident of Maryland;
(2) Is a student at a Maryland high school at the time of application; or
(3) Graduated from a Maryland high school within 3 months of application.
(f) Use; amount.- A scholarship awarded under this section:
(1) May be used for the tuition and mandatory fees at any eligible institution; and
(2) May not:
(i) Exceed the equivalent annual tuition and mandatory fees of a resident undergraduate student at the 4-year public institution of higher education within the University System of Maryland, other than the University of Maryland University College and University of Maryland, Baltimore, with the highest annual expenses for a full-time resident undergraduate; and
(ii) Be less than the lesser of:
1. $3,000; or
2. The equivalent annual tuition and mandatory fees of a resident of the institution attended by the recipient of the scholarship.
(g) Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program.-
(1) Each postsecondary institution shall determine the eligibility of persons who apply to the institution for the Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program.
(2) Funds for the Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program shall be allocated by the Commission to each postsecondary institution based on the number of eligible recipients attending each institution.
(3) In October and February of each year, each postsecondary institution shall report to the Commission the number of eligible recipients attending the institution.
(4) The Commission shall allocate funds for awards to postsecondary institutions upon verification of eligible recipients attending the institutions.
(5) If funds cannot be allocated in the fiscal year in which awards are made, priority shall be given to allocating funds for those awards in the following fiscal year.
(h) Duration.-
(1) Each recipient of a scholarship under this section may hold the award for 5 years of full-time study or 8 years of part-time study.
(2) The number of eligible recipients under subsection (d)(3)(v) of this section shall be limited to 15 each year.
(3) An award provided under subsection (d)(3)(vi) of this section may not exceed the amount specified in subsection (f)(2) of this section when combined with any other scholarship received by a student based on the student's status as a child or spouse of a victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
(i) Gifts and grants.- The Commission:
(1) May accept any gift or grant from any person for the Edward T. Conroy Scholarship Fund;
(2) Shall use any gift or grant that it receives for a scholarship from the Program; and
(3) Shall deposit any gift or grant that it receives for the Program with the State Treasurer in a nonbudgeted account.
[1990, ch. 221; 1991, ch. 55, § 1; 1993, ch. 66; 1997, ch. 114, § 1; 1998, ch. 21, § 1; 2000, chs. 327, 581; 2001, ch. 298; 2002, ch. 19, § 1; chs. 99, 314; ch. 315, § 6; ch. 429, § 6; 2003, ch. 21, § 7; 2004, ch. 418; 2006, ch. 290, § 1; ch. 407; 2007, ch. 232, § 1; 2009, chs. 60, 607, 608; 2010, ch. 72.]