Educational Dollars for Duty Program

HB 19 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Educational Dollars for Duty 2
program; providing a short title; transferring, 3
renumbering, and amending s. 250.10(7) and (8), F.S.; 4
requiring the program to set aside a certain amount of 5
funds to provide tuition assistance to spouses and 6
children of active members of the Florida National 7
Guard; authorizing the Legislature to increase the 8
amount of such funds; requiring the Department of 9
Military Affairs to oversee implementation and 10
enforcement of the program; requiring the department 11
to establish certain procedures; providing an 12
effective date. 13
14
WHEREAS, members of the Florida National Guard who are 15
deployed to respond to emergencies are frequently taken away 16
from their families for significant periods of time, and 17
WHEREAS, a National Guard member's overseas deployments and 18
service during natural disasters can often leave the member's 19
family disadvantaged without the relied-upon support of the 20
family member while the member is away serving Florida or our 21
nation, and 22
WHEREAS, providing educational support to the families of 23
National Guard members will offer significant relief and support 24
to these dedicated individuals, NOW, THEREFORE, 25

HB 19 2026

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27
28
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Educational 29
Dollars for Duty Program Expansion Act." 30
Section 2. Present subsections (7) and (8) of section 31
250.10, Florida Statutes, are transferred and renumbered as 32
section 250.101, Florida Statutes, and subsection (3) is added 33
to that section, to read: 34
250.101 Educational Dollars for Duty program.— 35
(1)(7) The Adjutant General shall develop an education 36
assistance program for members in good standing of the Florida 37
National Guard who enroll in an authorized course of study at a 38
public or nonpublic postsecondary institution or technical 39
center in the state which has been accredited by an accrediting 40
body recognized by the United States Department of Education or 41
licensed by the Commission for Independent Education. Education 42
assistance also may be used for training to obtain industry 43
certifications approved by the Department of Education pursuant 44
to s. 1008.44 and continuing education to maintain license 45
certifications. The education assistance program shall be known 46
as the Educational Dollars for Duty program (EDD). 47
(a) The program shall establish application requirements, 48
including, but not limited to, requirements that the applicant: 49
1. Be 17 years of age or older. 50

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2. Be presently domiciled in the state. 51
3. Be an active drilling member and in good standing in 52
the Florida National Guard at the beginning of and throughout 53
the entire academic term for which benefits are received. 54
4. Maintain continuous satisfactory participation in the 55
Florida National Guard for the school term for which benefits 56
are received. 57
5. Upon enrollment in the program, complete a memorandum 58
of agreement to: 59
a. Comply with the rules of the program. 60
b. Serve in the Florida National Guard for the period 61
specified in the member's enlistment or reenlistment contract. 62
c. Authorize the release of information pursuant to 63
subparagraph (d)6. by the postsecondary institution or technical 64
center to the education service office of the Department of 65
Military Affairs, subject to applicable federal and state law. 66
(b) The program shall define those members of the Florida 67
National Guard who are ineligible to participate in the program 68
and those courses of study which are not authorized for the 69
program. 70
1. Ineligible members include, but are not limited to, a 71
member, commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted 72
person who has obtained a master's degree using the program. 73
2. Inactive members of the Florida National Guard and 74
members of the Individual Ready Reserve are not eligible to 75

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participate in the program. 76
3. Courses not authorized include noncredit courses, 77
courses that do not meet degree requirements, courses that do 78
not meet requirements for completion of career training, or 79
other courses as determined by program definitions. 80
4. The program may not pay repeat course fees. 81
(c) The program may include, but is not limited to: 82
1. Courses at a public or nonpublic postsecondary 83
institution or technical center in the state which is accredited 84
by an accrediting body recognized by the United States 85
Department of Education or licensed by the Commission for 86
Independent Education. 87
2. Training to obtain industry certifications, limited to 88
certifications approved by the Department of Education under s. 89
1008.44. 90
3. Continuing education to maintain a license or 91
certification. Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)1., members who 92
have obtained a master's degree using the program are eligible 93
for funding under this subparagraph. 94
4. Licensing and industry certification examination fees. 95
Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)1., members who have obtained a 96
master's degree using the program are eligible for funding under 97
this subparagraph. 98
5. Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)3., developmental 99
educational courses. 100

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(d) The Adjutant General shall adopt rules for the overall 101
policy, guidance, administration, implementation, and proper use 102
of the program. Such rules must include, but need not be limited 103
to: 104
1. Guidelines for certification by the Adjutant General of 105
a guard member's eligibility. 106
2. Procedures for notification to a postsecondary 107
institution or technical center of a guard member's termination 108
of eligibility. 109
3. Guidelines for approving courses of study that are 110
authorized for the program, including online courses, industry 111
certification training, and continuing education to maintain 112
license certifications. 113
4. Guidelines for approving the use of program funds for 114
licensing and industry certification examination fees. 115
5. Procedures for restitution when a guard member fails to 116
comply with the penalties described in this section. 117
6. Procedures that require a public or nonpublic 118
postsecondary institution or technical center that receives 119
funding from the program to provide information regarding course 120
enrollment, course withdrawal, course cancellation, course 121
completion, course failure, and grade verification of enrolled 122
members to the education service office of the Department of 123
Military Affairs. 124
7. Guidelines for the payment of tuition and fees, not to 125

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exceed the highest in-state tuition rate charged by a public 126
postsecondary institution in the state. 127
(2)(8) Subject to appropriations, the Department of 128
Military Affairs may pay the full cost of tuition and fees for 129
required courses for current members of the Florida National 130
Guard. Members are eligible to use the program upon enlistment 131
in the Florida National Guard. If a member is enrolled in a 132
nonpublic postsecondary education institution or a nonpublic 133
vocational-technical program, the Department of Military Affairs 134
shall pay an amount that may not exceed the rate of the highest 135
in-state tuition and fees at a public postsecondary education 136
institution or public vocational-technical program. 137
(a) The Adjutant General shall give preference and 138
priority to eligible members who have deployed on federal 139
military orders while a member of the Florida National Guard. 140
(b) The Department of Military Affairs may reimburse a 141
member for student textbook and instructional material costs in 142
accordance with limits set each fiscal year based on funding 143
availability and regardless of the source of tuition funding, 144
but only after tuition and fees for all eligible members are 145
paid for that fiscal year. 146
(c) Penalties for noncompliance with program requirements 147
include, but are not limited to, the following: 148
1. If a member of the Florida National Guard receives 149
payment of tuition and fees for an academic term and fails to 150

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maintain satisfactory participation in the Florida National 151
Guard during that academic term, the member shall reimburse the 152
Department of Military Affairs all tuition charges and student 153
fees for the academic term for which the member received 154
payment. 155
2. If a member of the Florida National Guard leaves the 156
Florida National Guard during the period specified in the 157
member's enlistment or reenlistment contract, the member shall 158
reimburse the Department of Military Affairs all tuition charges 159
and student fees for which the member received payments, 160
regardless of whether the obligation to reimburse the department 161
was incurred before, on, or after July 1, 2009, unless the 162
Adjutant General finds that there are justifiable extenuating 163
circumstances. 164
3. If the service of a member of the Florida National 165
Guard is terminated or the member is placed on scholastic 166
probation while receiving payments, the member shall reimburse 167
the Department of Military Affairs all tuition charges and 168
student fees for the academic term for which the member received 169
payment. 170
4. If a member defaults on any reimbursement made under 171
this paragraph, the department may charge the member the maximum 172
interest rate authorized by law. 173
(3)(a) The Educational Dollars for Duty program shall set 174
aside $500,000 of existing funds each fiscal year to provide 175

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financial assistance for up to 50 percent of the cost of tuition 176
to spouses and children of active members of the Florida 177
National Guard. The amount set aside may be increased by the 178
Legislature as deemed necessary. 179
(b) The Department of Military Affairs shall oversee the 180
implementation and enforcement of this subsection. The 181
department shall establish procedures for verifying eligibility 182
and distributing funds. 183
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 184