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WES MOORE, Governor Ch. 798
Chapter 798
(House Bill 3)
AN ACT concerning
Higher Education – Nonresident Tuition Student Financial Assistance –
Exemption for Dependents of State or Local Public Safety Employees
(Maryland Fallen Heroes Tuition Benefits Act)
FOR the purpose of exempting spouses and financially dependent children of certain State
or local public safety employees from paying out–of–state or out–of–county tuition at
a public institution of higher education in the State; altering the method for
allocating funds for the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship
Program and the Jean B. Cryor Memorial Scholarship Program; and generally
relating to nonresident tuition exemptions for student financial assistance for
spouses and financially dependent children of State or local public safety employees.
BY adding to
Article – Education
Section 15–106.12
Annotated Code of Maryland
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement)
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments,
Article – Education
Section 18–601(a)(1) and (5)
Annotated Code of Maryland
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement)
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article – Education
Section 18–601
Annotated Code of Maryland
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement)
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND,
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:
Article – Education
15–106.12.
(A) IN THIS SECTION, “STATE OR LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE” HAS
THE MEANING STATED IN § 18–601 OF THIS ARTICLE.
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Ch. 798 2026 LAWS OF MARYLAND
(B) NOTWITHSTANDING THE STATE OR COUNTY IN WHICH THE SPOUSE OR
THE CHILD RESIDES, A SPOUSE OR A FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT CHILD OF A STATE
OR LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE WHO DIES AS A RESULT OF OR IN THE COURSE
OF PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES IS EXEMPT FROM PAYING OUT–OF–STATE OR
OUT–OF–COUNTY TUITION AT A PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE
STATE.
(C) THE COMMISSION SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT THIS
SECTION.
18–601.
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(5) “State or local public safety employee” means a person who is employed
in the State as:
(i) A career or volunteer member of a:
1. Fire department;
2. Ambulance company or squad; or
3. Rescue company or squad;
(ii) A law enforcement officer;
(iii) A correctional officer; or
(iv) A member of the Maryland National Guard who was a resident
of this State at the time of death.
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) “Disabled public safety employee” means a State or local public safety
employee who sustains an injury in the line of duty that:
(i) Precludes the individual from continuing to serve or be employed
as a State or local public safety employee; and
(ii) In the case of a volunteer member of a fire department or
ambulance or rescue company or squad, precludes the member from continuing to be
employed in the nonpublic safety occupation in which the member is engaged at the time of
the injury.
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WES MOORE, Governor Ch. 798
(3) “Fund” means the Edward T. Conroy and Jean B. Cryor Scholarship
Fund.
(4) “School employee” includes an employee of a public or nonpublic school
in the State.
(5) “State or local public safety employee” means a person who is employed
in the State as:
(i) A career or volunteer member of a:
1. Fire department;
2. Ambulance company or squad; or
3. Rescue company or squad;
(ii) A law enforcement officer;
(iii) A correctional officer; or
(iv) A member of the Maryland National Guard who was a resident
of this State at the time of death.
(6) “Surviving spouse” means a person who has not remarried.
(7) “Victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks” means a Maryland
resident who was killed as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York
City, the attack on the Pentagon in Virginia, or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in
Pennsylvania.
(b) There is a program of scholarships that are awarded by eligible postsecondary
institutions under this section.
(c) (1) The program for uniformed services and public safety personnel and
their eligible dependents is the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship
Program.
(2) The program for eligible dependents of public and nonpublic school
employees is the Jean B. Cryor Memorial Scholarship Program.
(d) (1) A person may apply to an eligible postsecondary institution for a
scholarship under this section if the person:
(i) 1. Is accepted for admission or enrolled in the regular
undergraduate, graduate or professional program at an eligible institution;
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Ch. 798 2026 LAWS OF MARYLAND
2. Is enrolled in a 2–year terminal certificate program in
which the course work is acceptable for transfer credit for an accredited baccalaureate
program in an eligible institution; or
3. Is enrolled in a private career school;
(ii) Is at least 16 years old; and
(iii) Meets the other eligibility criteria specified in this section.
(2) To apply for a scholarship under this section, the following persons are
required to be a resident of Maryland at the time of application or at the time of the disabling
or fatal event:
(i) A son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, or the surviving spouse of
a member of the uniformed services who:
1. Died as a result of service after December 7, 1941;
2. Suffered a service connected 100% permanent disability
after December 7, 1941; or
3. Was declared to be a prisoner of war or missing in action,
if that occurred on or after January 1, 1960, as a result of the Vietnam conflict, and if the
child was born prior to or while the parent was a prisoner of war or missing in action;
(ii) A prisoner of war or missing in action, if that occurred on or after
January 1, 1960, as a result of the Vietnam conflict and was a resident of this State at the
time the person was declared to be a prisoner of war or missing in action;
(iii) A veteran who:
1. Suffers a service connected disability of 25% or greater; and
2. Has exhausted or is no longer eligible for federal veterans’
educational benefits;
(iv) A son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter of or the surviving
spouse of a victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;
(v) A son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter of a school employee
who, as a result of an act of violence:
1. Died in the line of duty; or
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WES MOORE, Governor Ch. 798
2. Sustained an injury in the line of duty that rendered the
school employee 100% disabled; or
(vi) The surviving spouse of a school employee who, as a result of an
act of violence:
1. Died in the line of duty; or
2. Sustained an injury in the line of duty that rendered the
school employee 100% disabled.
(3) To apply for a scholarship under this section, the following persons are
not required to be a resident of Maryland at the time of application or at the time of the
disabling or fatal event:
(i) 1. A son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter of any State or
local public safety employee killed in the line of duty; or
2. The surviving spouse of any State or local public safety
employee killed in the line of duty; or
(ii) 1. A disabled public safety employee;
2. A son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter of a disabled
public safety employee who sustains an injury in the line of duty that renders the public
safety employee 100% disabled; or
3. The surviving spouse of a disabled public safety employee
who sustains an injury in the line of duty that renders the public safety employee 100%
disabled.
(e) A scholarship awarded under this section:
(1) May be used for the tuition and mandatory fees at any eligible
institution; and
(2) May not:
(i) Exceed the equivalent annual tuition and mandatory fees of a
resident undergraduate student at the 4–year public institution of higher education within
the University System of Maryland, other than the University of Maryland Global Campus
and University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus, with the highest annual expenses for a
full–time resident undergraduate; and
(ii) Be less than the lesser of:
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Ch. 798 2026 LAWS OF MARYLAND
1. $3,000; or
2. The equivalent annual tuition and mandatory fees of a
resident of the institution attended by the recipient of the scholarship.
(f) (1) Each postsecondary institution shall determine the eligibility of persons
who apply to the institution for the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship
Program and the Jean B. Cryor Memorial Scholarship Program.
(2) Funds for the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship
Program and the Jean B. Cryor Memorial Scholarship Program shall be allocated by the
Commission to each postsecondary institution based on [the number of eligible recipients
attending each institution] A FORMULA DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION, WHICH MAY
INCLUDE PRIOR YEAR ENROLLMENT, ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS, AND INSTITUTIONAL
TUITION AND FEES.
(3) In October and February of each year, each postsecondary institution
shall report to the Commission the number of eligible recipients attending the institution.
(4) (I) The Commission shall allocate funds for awards to postsecondary
institutions [upon verification of eligible recipients attending the institutions] SUBJECT TO
THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AS PROVIDED IN THE STATE BUDGET.
(II) EACH POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTION MAY MAKE AWARDS
TO ELIGIBLE STUDENTS SUBJECT TO THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FROM THE
COMMISSION UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH.
(5) [If funds cannot be allocated in the fiscal year in which awards are
made, priority shall be given to allocating funds for those awards in the following fiscal
year] THE COMMISSION SHALL ADOPT GUIDELINES TO IMPLEMENT THIS
SUBSECTION.
(g) (1) Each recipient of a scholarship under this section may hold the award
for 5 years of full–time study or 8 years of part–time study.
(2) The number of eligible recipients under subsection (d)(2)(iii) of this
section shall be limited to 15 each year.
(3) An award provided under subsection (d)(2)(iv) of this section may not
exceed the amount specified in subsection (e)(2) of this section when combined with any other
scholarship received by a student based on the student’s status as a child or spouse of a
victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
(4) SUBJECT TO A RECIPIENT’S CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY UNDER
SUBSECTION (D) OF THIS SECTION AND THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS UNDER
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WES MOORE, Governor Ch. 798
SUBSECTION (F) OF THIS SECTION, AN AWARDING AUTHORITY SHALL GIVE PRIORITY
TO A RECIPIENT OF A SCHOLARSHIP BEFORE AWARDING FUNDS TO NEW APPLICANTS.
(h) (1) There is an Edward T. Conroy and Jean B. Cryor Scholarship Fund.
(2) The Commission shall administer the Fund.
(3) The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of
the State Finance and Procurement Article.
(4) The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund and the Comptroller shall
account for the Fund.
(5) The Commission:
(i) May accept any gift or grant from any person for the Fund;
(ii) Shall use any gift or grant that it receives for a scholarship from
the programs; and
(iii) Shall deposit any gift or grant that it receives for the programs
with the State Treasurer.
(i) For fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Governor shall include
in the annual budget bill an appropriation of at least $4,000,000 to the Fund.
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July
1, 2026.
Approved by the Governor, May 26, 2026.
–7–Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.