The Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) Program provides assistance for higher education for the spouses and children of federal, state, and local public safety officers who have been killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. The maximum award is $881 per month of class attendance for a full-time student that can be used for tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, and other education-related costs. These funds may be used for a period no greater than 45 months of full-time education. Eligibility for a dependent child ends at age 27.

North Carolina:

The State provides tuition waivers for the University of North Carolina and Community Colleges for “any person who is the survivor of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad worker killed as a direct result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty”. The 2015 Session of the General Assembly extended the benefit to individuals whose legal guardian or legal custodian was killed in the line of duty.

State Associations:

The North Carolina State Firemen’s Association will pay for the education of dependent children of members killed in the line-of-duty. The Association will pay for all educational expenses of a state institution except tuition. (Students attending private colleges receive the amount of the highest priced state institution). There is no cap on the four-year cost of attendance.

The North Carolina Association of Rescue and Emergency Medical Services provides a scholarship to spouses and dependents of members who die in the line-of-duty. The scholarship is $12,000 for a 4-year college or university, $8,000 for a 2-year college and transferring to a 4 year college, and $2,000 for a community college or trade/technical school.

The North Carolina Bar Association Scholarship is for children of law enforcement officers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. The amount awarded will depend upon 1) the amount available for awards, 2) the number of applicants, and 3) the cost of the institutions. Scholarships must be renewed annually and are reviewed by the Young Lawyers Division Scholarship Committee. The recipient must be under age 27. Awards range from $500 to as much as $4,000 per semester.