Armed Forces and Public Safety Officer Dependent Scholarship

About this scholarship

• Applications are open year-round.
• This scholarship is for dependents of fallen or permanently disabled (to the point that they are unemployable) Idaho members of the armed forces or Idaho public safety officers.
• Eligible applicants must be Idaho residents.
• Contact the state Scholarship Program Manager (jmiller@edu.idaho.gov) for application instructions and pre-screening.

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 Idaho military members or public safety officers who have fallen or are disabled to the point of unemployability.

Review the stipulations and eligibility requirements, below, to determine eligibility.

Stipulations

• The spouse or children of an Idaho resident who entered active service as an Idaho resident as indicated on a DD form 214 certificate of release or discharge from active duty and, while such service member is, or was (if deceased), a resident of the state of Idaho: has been determined by the federal government to have been prisoners of war, missing in action, or died of, or has become unemployable by injuries or wounds sustained during active duty or inactive duty training.
• 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 (PERSI). 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.

Eligibility

For a child of a military member or public safety officer, the applicant must:

• Be an Idaho resident.
• Be a graduate from an Idaho high school or its equivalent (GED from Idaho).
• Enroll as a student in an academic or professional-technical program at North Idaho College, Lewis-Clark State College, College of Southern Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, University of Idaho, Boise State University, Idaho State University or College of Western Idaho.
• Be a child already born or born after a military member or public safety officer is determined to be imprisoned or missing in action is killed or becomes unemployable. The parent must have been an Idaho resident at the time they entered active service as an Idaho resident, 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).

For a spouse of a military member or public safety officer, the applicant must:

• Be an Idaho resident.
• Enroll as a student in an academic or professional-technical program at North Idaho College, Lewis-Clark State College, College of Southern Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, University of Idaho, Boise State University, Idaho State University, or College of Western Idaho.
• Have been married to a military member or public safety officer at the time that they were determined to be imprisoned or missing in action or was killed or became totally and permanently disabled.
• In the situation where a military member or public safety officer becomes totally and permanently disabled, the applicant must be currently married to such 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).