295.01 Spouses and dependent children of deceased or disabled servicemembers; education.

(1) As used in this section, the terms “Armed Forces” and “servicemember” shall have the same meanings as provided in s. 250.01.

(2)(a) It is the policy of the state to provide educational opportunity at state expense for a dependent child, as defined in s. 1009.21(1), of a servicemember who: 1. Died as a result of service-connected injuries, disease, or disability sustained while on active duty; or 2. Has been: a. Determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor to have a service-connected 100-percent total and permanent disability rating for compensation; b. Determined to have a service-connected total and permanent disability rating of 100 percent and is in receipt of disability retirement pay from any branch of the United States Armed Forces; or c. Issued a valid identification card by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in accordance with s. 295.17. (b) The dependent child of a deceased servicemember is eligible for educational benefits under this section if: 1. Immediately preceding the death of the servicemember, Florida was listed as the servicemember’s official home of record in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database; or 2. The child qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes under s. 1009.21. (c) The dependent child of a disabled servicemember is eligible for educational benefits under this section if: 1. Immediately preceding the occurrence of the servicemember’s disability, Florida was listed as the servicemember’s official home of record in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database; or 2. The child qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes under s. 1009.21 and the servicemember is a resident of this state. All rules, restrictions, and limitations set forth in this section shall apply.

(3) It is also the policy of the state to provide educational opportunity at state expense for spouses of deceased or disabled servicemembers. (a) The unremarried spouse of a deceased servicemember is eligible for educational benefits under this section if the unremarried spouse applies to use the benefit within 5 years after the servicemember’s death and: 1. Immediately preceding the servicemember’s death, Florida was listed as the servicemember’s official home of record in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database; or 2. The spouse qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes under s. 1009.21. (b) The dependent spouse of a disabled servicemember is eligible for educational benefits under this section if the servicemember and his or her spouse have been married to each other for 1 year and: 1. Immediately preceding the occurrence of the servicemember’s disability, Florida was listed as the servicemember’s official home of record in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database; or 2. The spouse qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes under s. 1009.21 and the servicemember is a resident of this state. (c) The eligibility for educational benefits under paragraph (b) applies only during the duration of the marriage and up to the point of termination of the marriage by dissolution or annulment. All rules, restrictions, and limitations set forth in this section shall apply.

(4) Sections 295.03-295.05 and 1009.40 shall apply.

(5) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for administering this section.

(6) A child or spouse of a servicemember may receive benefits under either this section or s. 295.061.

History: s. 1, ch. 20966, 1941; s. 1, ch. 21655, 1943; s. 1, ch. 28195, 1953; s. 1, ch. 67-455; s. 16, ch. 69-180; s. 1, ch. 82-93; s. 2, ch. 83-71; s. 12, ch. 84-114; s. 11, ch. 87-356; s. 21, ch. 88-290; s. 25, ch. 89-207; s. 6, ch. 93-268; s. 20, ch. 95-143; s. 6, ch. 2000-294; s. 948, ch. 2002-387; s. 6, ch. 2004-230; s. 1, ch. 2005-127; s. 1, ch. 2006-244; s. 6, ch. 2019-24; s. 1, ch. 2023-279.