Bill Text: NJ S925 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that former law enforcement officers who retired due to disability are eligible to receive tuition assistance to attend public institution of higher education or proprietary institution licensed to confer academic degrees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S925 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S925-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Provides that former law enforcement officers who retired due to disability are eligible to receive tuition assistance to attend public institution of higher education or proprietary institution licensed to confer academic degrees.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning tuition assistance for certain retired law enforcement officers 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. a. As used in this act:
"Public institution of higher education" means Rutgers, The State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University, Montclair State University, Kean University, the State colleges or universities established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, the county colleges and any other public university or college now or hereafter established or authorized by State law.
"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.
b. A retired law enforcement officer who retired in good standing shall be permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at a public institution of higher education or a proprietary institution licensed to confer academic degrees for certain programs by the Secretary of Higher Education and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free provided that:
(1) the officer retired because of a 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), or any substantially similar statute governing the disability retirement of federal law enforcement officers, provided that the officer was a regularly employed, full-time law enforcement officer for an aggregate of four or more years prior to his disability retirement;
(2) the retired officer 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 pursue a course of study in an academic degree-granting program at a proprietary institution which has been licensed to confer academic degrees by the secretary and is enrolled in good standing at that institution; and
(3) the retired officer has applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the retired officer is eligible.
c. The State shall reimburse a public institution of higher education or a proprietary institution for the tuition of each eligible retired law enforcement officer 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 is eligible.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that retired law enforcement officers who retired in good standing due to a disability are eligible to receive tuition assistance to attend a public institution of higher education or a proprietary institution which has been licensed to confer academic degrees for certain programs by the Secretary of Higher Education. In addition to academic degrees, proprietary institutions also offer certificates and other credentials in various professional trades and occupations. Under the bill, eligible retired law enforcement officers are permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at public institutions of higher education or proprietary institutions and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free provided that:
· the officer retired because of a 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), or any substantially similar statute governing the disability retirement of federal law enforcement officers;
· the retired officer is enrolled an as 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 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 a public institution of higher education or proprietary institution for the tuition of each eligible retired law enforcement officer who enrolls in the institution to the extent that the tuition cost is not paid through federal and State student grants and scholarships.
Under P.L.1999, c.46, members of the New Jersey National Guard who have been accepted to pursue a course of study at a public institution of higher education and who are in good standing and apply for all available tuition benefits for which they are eligible are permitted to attend regularly-scheduled courses at the institution and receive up to 16 credits per semester tuition-free. This bill models that law and provides the same tuition benefits to former law enforcement officers who retired due to disability.
