HB 135 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Educational Dollars for Duty 2
program; providing a short title; creating s. 250.101, 3
F.S., and transferring and renumbering s. 250.10(7) 4
and (8), F.S.; requiring the program to set aside a 5
certain amount of funds to provide tuition assistance 6
to spouses and children of active members of the 7
Florida National Guard; requiring the Department of 8
Military Affairs to oversee implementation and 9
enforcement; requiring the department to establish 10
certain procedures; providing an effective date. 11
12
WHEREAS, members of the Florida National Guard are 13
frequently deployed and respond to emergencies, often taking 14
them away from their families, and 15
WHEREAS, many National Guard families are left alone during 16
a member's overseas deployments and during natural disasters, 17
often having to take care of themselves while the member is away 18
helping Florida or our nation, and 19
WHEREAS, providing educational suppor t to the families of 20
National Guard members will offer significant relief and support 21
to these dedicated individuals, NOW, THEREFORE, 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Educational 26
Dollars for Duty Program Expansion Act." 27
Section 2. Section 250.101, Florida Statutes, is created, 28
and subsections (7) and (8) of section 250.10, Florida Statutes, 29
are transferred and renumbered as subsections (1) and (2), 30
respectively, of section 250.101 , Florida Statutes, and 31
subsection (3) is added to that section, to read: 32
250.101 Educational Dollars for Duty program. — 33
(1)(7) The Adjutant General shall develop an education 34
assistance program for members in good standing of the Florida 35
National Guard who enroll in an authorized course of study at a 36
public or nonpublic postsecondary institution or technical 37
center in the state which has been accredited by an accrediting 38
body recognized by the United States Department of Education or 39
licensed by the Commission for Independent Education. Education 40
assistance also may be used for training to obtain industry 41
certifications approved by the Department of Education pursuant 42
to s. 1008.44 and continuing education to maintain license 43
certifications. The educati on assistance program shall be known 44
as the Educational Dollars for Duty program (EDD). 45
(a) The program shall establish application requirements, 46
including, but not limited to, requirements that the applicant: 47
1. Be 17 years of age or older. 48
2. Be presently domiciled in the state. 49
3. Be an active drilling member and in good standing in 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the Florida National Guard at the beginning of and throughout 51
the entire academic term for which benefits are received. 52
4. Maintain continuous satisfactory participation in the 53
Florida National Guard for the school term for which benefits 54
are received. 55
5. Upon enrollment in the program, complete a memorandum 56
of agreement to: 57
a. Comply with the rules of the program. 58
b. Serve in the Florida National Guard for the period 59
specified in the member's enlistment or reenlistment contract. 60
c. Authorize the release of information pursuant to 61
subparagraph (d)6. by the postsecondary institution or technical 62
center to the education service office of the Department o f 63
Military Affairs, subject to applicable federal and state law. 64
(b) The program shall define those members of the Florida 65
National Guard who are ineligible to participate in the program 66
and those courses of study which are not authorized for the 67
program. 68
1. Ineligible members include, but are not limited to, a 69
member, commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted 70
person who has obtained a master's degree using the program. 71
2. Inactive members of the Florida National Guard and 72
members of the Individual Ready Reserve are not eligible to 73
participate in the program. 74
3. Courses not authorized include noncredit courses, 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
courses that do not meet degree requirements, courses that do 76
not meet requirements for completion of career training, or 77
other courses as determined by program definitions. 78
4. The program may not pay repeat course fees. 79
(c) The program may include, but is not limited to: 80
1. Courses at a public or nonpublic postsecondary 81
institution or technical center in the state which is accre dited 82
by an accrediting body recognized by the United States 83
Department of Education or licensed by the Commission for 84
Independent Education. 85
2. Training to obtain industry certifications, limited to 86
certifications approved by the Department of Education under s. 87
1008.44. 88
3. Continuing education to maintain a license or 89
certification. Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)1., members who 90
have obtained a master's degree using the program are eligible 91
for funding under this subparagraph. 92
4. Licensing and indu stry certification examination fees. 93
Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)1., members who have obtained a 94
master's degree using the program are eligible for funding under 95
this subparagraph. 96
5. Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)3., developmental 97
educational courses. 98
(d) The Adjutant General shall adopt rules for the overall 99
policy, guidance, administration, implementation, and proper use 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
of the program. Such rules must include, but need not be limited 101
to: 102
1. Guidelines for certification by the Adjutant Genera l of 103
a guard member's eligibility. 104
2. Procedures for notification to a postsecondary 105
institution or technical center of a guard member's termination 106
of eligibility. 107
3. Guidelines for approving courses of study that are 108
authorized for the program, inclu ding online courses, industry 109
certification training, and continuing education to maintain 110
license certifications. 111
4. Guidelines for approving the use of program funds for 112
licensing and industry certification examination fees. 113
5. Procedures for restitu tion when a guard member fails to 114
comply with the penalties described in this section. 115
6. Procedures that require a public or nonpublic 116
postsecondary institution or technical center that receives 117
funding from the program to provide information regarding course 118
enrollment, course withdrawal, course cancellation, course 119
completion, course failure, and grade verification of enrolled 120
members to the education service office of the Department of 121
Military Affairs. 122
7. Guidelines for the payment of tuition and f ees, not to 123
exceed the highest in -state tuition rate charged by a public 124
postsecondary institution in the state. 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(2)(8) Subject to appropriations, the Department of 126
Military Affairs may pay the full cost of tuition and fees for 127
required courses for curre nt members of the Florida National 128
Guard. Members are eligible to use the program upon enlistment 129
in the Florida National Guard. If a member is enrolled in a 130
nonpublic postsecondary education institution or a nonpublic 131
vocational-technical program, the Dep artment of Military Affairs 132
shall pay an amount that may not exceed the rate of the highest 133
in-state tuition and fees at a public postsecondary education 134
institution or public vocational -technical program. 135
(a) The Adjutant General shall give preference a nd 136
priority to eligible members who have deployed on federal 137
military orders while a member of the Florida National Guard. 138
(b) The Department of Military Affairs may reimburse a 139
member for student textbook and instructional material costs in 140
accordance with limits set each fiscal year based on funding 141
availability and regardless of the source of tuition funding, 142
but only after tuition and fees for all eligible members are 143
paid for that fiscal year. 144
(c) Penalties for noncompliance with program requiremen ts 145
include, but are not limited to, the following: 146
1. If a member of the Florida National Guard receives 147
payment of tuition and fees for an academic term and fails to 148
maintain satisfactory participation in the Florida National 149
Guard during that academic term, the member shall reimburse the 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Department of Military Affairs all tuition charges and student 151
fees for the academic term for which the member received 152
payment. 153
2. If a member of the Florida National Guard leaves the 154
Florida National Guard during the period specified in the 155
member's enlistment or reenlistment contract, the member shall 156
reimburse the Department of Military Affairs all tuition charges 157
and student fees for which the member received payments, 158
regardless of whether the obligation to rei mburse the department 159
was incurred before, on, or after July 1, 2009, unless the 160
Adjutant General finds that there are justifiable extenuating 161
circumstances. 162
3. If the service of a member of the Florida National 163
Guard is terminated or the member is place d on scholastic 164
probation while receiving payments, the member shall reimburse 165
the Department of Military Affairs all tuition charges and 166
student fees for the academic term for which the member received 167
payment. 168
4. If a member defaults on any reimburseme nt made under 169
this paragraph, the department may charge the member the maximum 170
interest rate authorized by law. 171
(3)(a) The Educational Dollars for Duty program shall set 172
aside $500,000 of existing funds every fiscal year to provide 173
financial assistance f or up to 50 percent of tuition to spouses 174
and children of active members of the Florida National Guard. 175
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
The amount set aside may be increased by the Legislature as 176
deemed necessary. 177
(b) The Department of Military Affairs shall oversee the 178
implementation and enforcement of this subsection. The 179
department shall establish procedures for verifying eligibility 180
and distributing funds. 181
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 182