Scholarship for relatives of firefighters or NIE agents killed on duty

It is the scholarship the Legislature created in 2012 to put the families of firefighters and NIE agents on the same footing as police families, who had had theirs since 1998. It covers tuition and textbooks — nothing else — at any accredited institution, up to six years of a full-time bachelor’s degree. It goes to the spouse left widowed, to children under twenty-one, and to children up to twenty-five if they are in postsecondary studies.

First look at who died. They must have been a member of the Puerto Rico Fire Corps or a member of the Bureau of Special Investigations (N.I.E.) attached to the Department of Justice. And they must have died in one of three situations Article 1 puts in the same sentence: in the performance of their official duties; from health conditions or accidents related to the performance of their functions; or “while off duty,” if death followed “as a consequence of their intervention to preserve order and safeguard public safety.” Then look at who studies: the surviving spouse “while they remain widowed,” children under twenty-one (21), and children of legal age up to twenty-five (25) who are pursuing postsecondary studies. Article 4 adds that the student must meet the institution’s admission requirements and policies, and the institution must be duly accredited under the laws of Puerto Rico.

• That the deceased relative was a member of the Puerto Rico Fire Corps or a member of the Bureau of Special Investigations (N.I.E.) attached to the Department of Justice.Verified against the official source
• That the death occurred in the performance of official duties, from health conditions or accidents related to the performance of their functions, or while off duty as a consequence of their intervention to preserve order and safeguard public safety.Verified against the official source
• Be the surviving spouse while they remain widowed, a child under twenty-one (21), or a child of legal age up to twenty-five (25) pursuing postsecondary studies.Verified against the official source
• Meet the admission requirements and policies of the educational institution, which must be duly accredited under the laws of Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: Confirm which of the three deaths the Act covers

   Article 1 does not say only “died in the line of duty.” It says three things, and the third is the one many families do not know exists. One: died “in the performance of their official duties.” Two: “from health conditions or accidents related to the performance of their functions” — this reaches what manifests later, not only what happens at the scene. Three: “while off duty, death befell them as a consequence of their intervention to preserve order and safeguard public safety.” If your relative was not on shift but intervened, the Act covers that in writing.

2. 2

   Step 2: See whether it is yours and for how long

   Three people may receive it. The surviving spouse — and the text sets a condition worth stating plainly: “while they remain widowed.” Children under twenty-one. And children already of legal age, up to twenty-five, provided they are pursuing postsecondary studies. Article 2 sets the duration ceiling: a maximum of six years of a full-time programme toward a bachelor’s degree, or the maximum term the institution requires for that same degree part-time.

3. 3

   Step 3: Count on tuition and textbooks; count on nothing else

   Article 3 is short and blunt: “The scholarships granted shall be exclusively for tuition payment and the purchase of textbooks, so they do not apply to any other obligation with the academic institution.” Laboratory fees, housing, transport, food, administrative charges: the Act does not include them. The good part of the same article is that it does not limit your calendar: “The scholarships shall be granted for any academic session, including summer sessions.” Summer counts.

4. 4

   Step 4: Do not give up anything else to claim this

   Article 5 says it expressly, and it is worth stating because the doubt is common: “The scholarships granted for tuition payment and textbook purchase are conferred in addition to the compensation and benefits other state and federal laws may grant.” Claiming this scholarship is not choosing between it and the pension, the insurance, the Pell Grant or any other benefit the family is entitled to under another law.

5. 5

   Step 5: Knock on the right door: Fire Corps or Justice

   The Act splits administration by where the deceased served. Article 6 empowers the Fire Chief and the Secretary of Justice — the latter as to the N.I.E. — to adopt the necessary regulations, and provides that the regulation “shall contain those scholarship programmes available for tuition payment and textbook purchase.” Articles 7 and 9 create two separate funds at Treasury, one on each side, so the application follows the same path: firefighter’s family, to the Fire Corps; N.I.E. agent’s family, to the Department of Justice.

6. 6

   Step 6: A detail in the text that does not add up, and we say so

   That same Article 6 ends like this: “Said Regulations must be filed at the Department of State no later than January 2, 2012.” The Act was approved on 30 August 2012 and, by its Article 12, took effect on 1 July 2012. That is, the deadline for filing the regulation precedes both the approval and the effective date of the Act itself. We reproduce it exactly as the compilation has it and tell you what it means in practice: we do not know, and will not invent, whether the regulation exists today or what it contains. Ask when you claim the scholarship.

To the Puerto Rico Fire Corps if the deceased was a firefighter, and to the Department of Justice if they were a member of the Bureau of Special Investigations. These are the two entities Article 6 empowers to regulate, and each has its own separate fund at Treasury. The Act publishes no form, office, address, telephone or applicant deadline, and we do not invent them.

• Believing it covers only deaths at the scene: the Act includes health conditions and accidents related to the performance of duties.
• Ruling it out because the relative was off duty: the Act covers that death if it followed from their intervention to preserve order and public safety.
• Counting on it for housing or fees: it is exclusively tuition and textbooks, and does not apply to any other obligation with the institution.
• Thinking a child of legal age is out: it runs to twenty-five if they are pursuing postsecondary studies.
• Not using it in summer: Article 3 says it is granted for any academic session, including summer ones.
• Giving up other benefits to claim it: Article 5 confers it in addition to compensation under other state and federal laws.
• Applying at the wrong agency: a firefighter’s family goes to the Fire Corps, an N.I.E. family goes to the Department of Justice.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Negociado del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Puerto Rico

  Bomberos

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov