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Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Rep. D. Short & Rep. Carson & Rep. Harris & Rep. K. Williams & Sen. Mantzavinos & Sen. Pettyjohn
Reps. Hilovsky, Neal, Romer, Snyder-Hall, Yearick, Collins, S. Moore, Chukwuocha; Sens. Buckson, Hansen, Hocker, Sokola, Wilson, Lawson
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 160
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO DELAWARE NATIONAL GUARD EDUCATION BENEFITS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Subchapter XI, Chapter 34, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Subchapter XI. Delaware National Guard
Educational
Education
Benefits
§ 3480. Education benefits.
(a) Any active member of a federally recognized unit of the Delaware National Guard
(“member”)
who meets the requirements for satisfactory
membership
membership,
as defined by the Adjutant General of the Delaware National
Guard shall be
Guard, is
eligible for
funding support by
financial assistance from
the Delaware National Guard for certain postsecondary education tuition and fees under the following conditions:
(1) The member must first apply for and utilize all other reasonably available tuition assistance programs, including scholarships,
grants
grants,
and civilian employer education benefit programs.
(2) The member must
make application
apply
to the Adjutant General for
tuition and fee assistance in advance of
education benefits provided under this section before starting
a class or course of
instruction
instruction,
according to a schedule announced by the Adjutant General.
(3) Education benefits authorized by this section may be used only for attendance at a postsecondary
educational
institution either financially supported by
the
this
State or, if private, located in
the
this
State.
Subject to any tuition assistance a member receives after applying under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, education benefits authorized by this section are as follows:
a.
If a member chooses to attend a
State-supported
state-supported postsecondary
institution,
the total amount of
tuition and fees
shall
must
be
reimbursed for the full amount expended, not to exceed
paid up to
the in-state resident rate.
A state-supported postsecondary institution shall charge a member the in-state rate for tuition and fees and shall treat the member as an in-state applicant or student regardless of the member’s state of residence.
b.
If a member chooses to attend a Delaware private
postsecondary
institution, the amount of
the benefit shall
tuition and fees paid must
be equal to the average tuition and fees of the
Delaware
state-supported
postsecondary institutions
which
that
offer the class or course of instruction, based on the in-state resident rate.
State-supported institutions shall charge members the in-state rate for tuition and fees and treat members as an in-state applicant or student regardless of the members’ state of residence.
(4) Each class or course of instruction taken by a member must be one that is required by the
postsecondary
institution for the award of a specific certificate or of a specific
associate’s
associate
degree, bachelor’s
degree
degree,
or master’s degree.
(5) The per-member
education
benefits granted under this section
shall be
are
limited to only 1 certificate or degree program at each level of study, namely, a certificate program, an
associate’s
associate
degree, bachelor’s
degree
degree,
or master’s degree.
(6) A member may be enrolled in a certificate or degree program full-time or part-time.
(7) A member may not receive education benefits
pursuant to
under
this section more than 15 years after the date on which the member begins the first course for which
funds
education benefits
are granted.
However, in the event that
But if
a member is called to active duty or to an activation that requires the member to discontinue that member’s education
benefits
benefits,
the 15-year limit may be extended by the amount of time the member serves on that active duty or activation.
(8)
This
The
tuition and fee assistance
education benefits
program
will be
established by this section is
subject to the limits of the total funding appropriated by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor for
that purpose.
the program.
(b)
In order to receive funds for tuition and fees for a postsecondary class or course of instruction
To receive education benefits
authorized by this section, a member
must:
must do all of the following:
(1) Agree to serve in a satisfactory manner for a period of not less than 6 years in the Delaware National Guard. The 6-year requirement may include service time before,
during
during,
and after the member receives
funding for
education benefits
pursuant to this section;
under this section.
(2)
Earn
Maintain
a
cumulative
grade
no lower than a
point average of
2.0
or higher
on a 4.0 scale, or its
equivalent, for each individual course for which tuition and fee assistance is granted.
equivalent.
In any course for which a specific grade is not issued, the member must show documentation to verify satisfactory completion. Failure
If a member fails
to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or
higher will be cause for forfeit of funding for all courses taken for the semester or period in which the grade point average remains below the 2.0 level; and
higher, the member may not receive further education benefits under this section until the member raises the member’s cumulative grade point average to meet the minimum required under this paragraph (b)(2).
(3)
Submit
Before the start date of a class or a course of instruction, the member shall give
to the Adjutant
General within 45 days after completing a course proof of:
General, or the Adjutant General’s designee, all of the following:
a.
The course title and grade received;
A completed application for the education benefits provided under this section.
b.
The amount of tuition and fees paid for the course;
If applicable, the member’s most recent transcript from a postsecondary institution.
c. The name of the postsecondary institution where the course was taken; and
d. Evidence of the member’s cumulative grade point average for courses taken to date.
(c) The Adjutant General shall appoint a board to adopt rules and regulations and to provide forms as
deemed
is
necessary and proper for the efficient administration of this section.
(d)
(1)
Upon approval by the Adjutant General, and subject to the availability of appropriated funds,
tuition and fee assistance shall be provided by
the Delaware National Guard
to the member
shall provide education benefits authorized by this section
from funds appropriated to the
Delaware
National Guard in the annual Budget Appropriations
Act
Act,
or in amendments
thereto
to the annual Budget Appropriations Act,
for that purpose. If
funding is not appropriated to fully support the program
the total education benefits applied for under this section exceed the appropriated funds, education benefits for
master’s degree
reimbursement will
must
be reduced prior to any reductions to members applying for
funds
education benefits
to obtain
a certificate,
an
associate’s degree
associate degree,
or
a
bachelor’s degree.
(2) Within 60 days after receiving a member’s bill for tuition and fees, the Delaware National Guard shall disburse the financial assistance authorized by this section directly to a postsecondary institution on behalf of the member.
(e) A member who
has received funding pursuant to
receives education benefits under
this section but who does not fulfill the service commitment required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section,
or
who is terminated from the
Delaware
National Guard for cause, or who otherwise fails to comply with any requirement of this section
shall
is
immediately
become
ineligible to receive education benefits
pursuant to
under
this section and shall repay the Delaware National Guard for all
tuition and fee funding previously extended to the member,
education benefits the member previously received,
including interest, on a pro rata basis from the time of termination or noncompliance. The Adjutant General shall determine the amount
of repayment due by
the member
pursuant to
must repay under
this subsection.
(f) If
membership in
a member is terminated from
the
Delaware
National Guard
is terminated for
other than
for
cause, the member
will
is
not
be
required to repay
previously funded tuition and fees.
education benefits the member received under this section.
(g) A member
shall
may
not receive
funding for any tuition or fees
education benefits
not
applied for
disbursed under paragraph (d)(2) of this section
prior to
termination
termination,
for any
reason
reason,
of membership in the
Delaware
National Guard.
(h) The Adjutant General shall report annually to the General
Assembly:
Assembly all of the following:
(1) The number of members who participated at each Delaware postsecondary
school
institution
during the
year;
fiscal year.
(2) The total amount of tuition and
fee expenditures made pursuant to
fees paid under
this section during the
year;
fiscal year.
(3) The total amount required to be repaid to the
Delaware
National Guard by defaulting members during the
year; and
fiscal year.
(4) The total amount of moneys actually repaid by defaulting members during the
fiscal
year.
Section 2. This Act is effective immediately and is implemented on July 1, 2026.
SYNOPSIS
The Delaware National Guard provides financial assistance to eligible service members for certain postsecondary education tuition and fees. Under the current education benefits program, the Delaware National Guard reimburses service members for tuition and fees the service members have already paid. But young service members often cannot take advantage of this program because they cannot afford to pay upfront for tuition and fees. This also hurts Delaware National Guard recruiting efforts because potential service members may choose to join National Guard programs in other states that do not require service members to pay upfront for tuition and fees. Keeping the Delaware National Guard fully staffed is essential to responding to state emergencies. Lack of staff also leads the Department of Defense to shift positions from the Delaware National Guard to other states that can recruit at higher levels than Delaware. This results in reduced mission capability in Delaware and less federal funding coming to Delaware.
This Act amends the existing code relating to Delaware National Guard education benefits by switching from a system that reimburses service members to a system that pays certain tuition and fees, on behalf of a service member, directly to a Delaware postsecondary institution. This change allows more service members to use education benefits, which will improve Delaware National Guard recruiting and retention, and enhance the professional education qualifications of its members.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and clarifies that the tuition assistance provided for Delaware private postsecondary institutions is based on the average tuition for state-supported postsecondary institutions.
This Act is effective immediately and is implemented on July 1, 2026, to allow updates to rules, regulations, and forms for the Delaware National Guard tuition assistance program.