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Armed Forces and PSO Dependent Scholarship

Description

The Armed Forces and Public Safety Officer Dependent Scholarship is awarded to dependents of fallen or permanently disabled members of the armed forces or public safety officers. Eligible applicants must be an Idaho resident.

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Eligibility Requirements

The Armed Forces and Public Safety Officer (PSO) Dependent Scholarship provides a waiver of tuition and fees plus up to $750 per semester for books in addition to on-campus housing and subsistence to Idaho undergraduate students who are the children or spouses of military members or public safety officers. Review the stipulations described in the Background section to determine your eligibility.

 

To qualify for this scholarship, a child of a military member or PSO must:

  • Be an Idaho resident
  • Have graduated or will graduate from an Idaho high school, Idaho home school, or its equivalent (GED/HSE from Idaho)
  • Be a child of a military member or public safety officer who is determined to be imprisoned, missing in action, killed or becomes unemployable.
  • Parent must have been an Idaho resident at the time they entered active service, as noted on the DD-214 under “home of record” as well as be a current Idaho resident.
  • If applying under the parent being unemployable:
    • Armed Forces: The United States department of veterans affairs has made a determination of individual unemployability; or the United States social security administration has made or recognized a determination of total and permanent disability, and the determination is based on injuries or wounds sustained during active duty or inactive duty training.
    • Public Safety Officers: Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) will provide a determination of unemployability.
  • Must Attend one of the eligible Idaho colleges or universities (provided below).

 

To qualify for this scholarship, a spouse of a military member or PSO must:

  • Be an Idaho resident
  • Have graduated or will graduate from an Idaho high school, Idaho home school, or its equivalent (GED/HSE from Idaho)
  • Have been married to a military member or public safety officer at the time that they were determined to be imprisoned, missing in action, killed or becomes unemployable.
  • In the situation where a military member or public safety officer becomes totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty, the student must be currently married to the person.
  • Be the spouse of one who was an Idaho resident at the time they entered active service as an Idaho resident, as noted on the DD-214 under “home of record” and is a current resident.
  • If applying under the spouse being unemployable:
    • Armed Forces: The United States department of veterans affairs has made a determination of individual unemployability; or the United States social security administration has made or recognized a determination of total and permanent disability, and the determination is based on injuries or wounds sustained during active duty or inactive duty training.
    • Public Safety Officers: Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) will provide a determination of unemployability.
  • Must Attend one of these eligible idaho colleges or universities (View Schools)

Background

The Armed Forces and Public Safety Officer Scholarship provides a waiver of tuition and fees plus up to $750 per semester for books in addition to on-campus housing and subsistence to Idaho undergraduate students who are the children or spouses of military members or public safety officers under the following stipulations:

The spouse or children of Idaho citizens determined by the federal government to have been prisoners of war, missing in action, or killed in action or died of injuries or wounds sustained in the line of duty.

Any spouse or child of any member of the armed forces of the United States who is stationed in the state of Idaho on military orders and who is deployed from the state of Idaho to any area of armed conflict in which the United States is a party and who has been determined by the federal government to be a prisoner of war or missing in action; or to have died of, or become totally and permanently disabled (as determined by the Social Security Administration or the Veterans Affairs) by, injuries or wounds sustained in action as a result of such deployment.

Any spouse or child of a full-time or part-time public safety officer (peace officer or firefighter, paramedic or EMT), employed by or volunteering for the state of Idaho or for a political subdivision of the state of Idaho, which public safety officer is or was a resident of the state of Idaho at the time such officer was killed or totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty as determined by the public employee retirement system of Idaho. The death or disability shall have occurred on or after January 1, 1975.

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Armed Forces and PSO Dependent Scholarship FAQs

This scholarship is for dependents for Idaho residents who were killed or rendered permanently disabled (to the point of unemployability) in the line of duty while deployed to an area of armed conflict. Disability determinations must come from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for military veterans and PERSI for public safety officers. Other requirements can be found here: https://boardofed.idaho.gov/scholarships/armed-forces-public-safety-officer-dependent-scholarship/

Please email Joy Miller – joy.miller@osbe.idaho.gov if you have questions and/or to receive application instructions.

The individual must have been a resident of Idaho and deployed to an area of armed conflict at the time their injury occurred in order for you to be eligible to apply.

The disability determination does need to come from the Social Security Administration. For Public Safety applicants, it needs to be from PERSI.

We need a recent determination letter (dated within the last five years).

The qualifying injury must have occurred in the line of duty as a public safety officer.

The qualifying injury must have occurred in the line of duty as a member of the armed forces. Unless the Russian Army has declared war on the U.S. and was using bears in battle, this does not qualify.

Typically, we need a birth certificate proving your relationship to your parent (or a marriage certificate in the case of a step-parent), high school diploma or transcript proving you graduated or will graduate from an Idaho high school, proof of the total and permanent disability from the Social Security Administration or PERSI, and documentation of service with either a letter from the employer or a DD-214. This last document should show the injury occurred in the line of duty and in the case of a member of the armed forces, showing the injury happened while deployed to an area of armed conflict.

If you think you qualify, please contact the Scholarship Program Manager at joy.miller@osbe.idaho.gov

The death or disability shall have occurred on or after January 1, 1975.

Undergraduate educational benefits shall not exceed a total of thirty-six (36) months or four (4) nine (9) month periods.

The initiation of such educational benefits shall extend for a period of ten (10) to nineteen (19) years after achieving a high school diploma or its equivalency or for a period of ten (10) years after the event giving rise to the eligibility for the scholarship, whichever is longer.