FDVA - Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs

Education

• The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a federal education benefit program for individuals who served on active duty a minimum of 90 days after Sept. 10, 2001. Public Law 11-32, the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, amends the Post-9/11 GI Bill to include the children of service members who die in the line of duty after Sept 10, 2001. For more information, call toll free (888) 442-4551 or visit the VA website at www.gibill.va.gov.

• Florida provides four-year college educational opportunities for dependent children and spouses of deceased or totally and permanently disabled veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces through Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans and Servicemembers. (FS295.01) For More Information, visit http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/SSFAD/factsheets/CDDV.htm or call toll free at (888) 827-2004.

• Dependent children of service members Missing in Action or Prisoners of War may also be eligible for tuition benefits. For more information, call toll free at (888) 827-2004.

• Florida waives undergraduate-level tuition at state universities and community colleges for Florida recipients of the Purple Heart and other combat-related decorations superior in precedence to the Purple Heart. Click here for details on this waiver and specific eligibility criteria. (FS 1009.26(8)) For more information call (850) 245-0407.

• Florida National Guard members have several programs at their disposal to offset the cost of college tuition. For more information, call (904) 827-8595.

• The Florida Legislature has enacted laws in which eligible World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who, as a result of being inducted into any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and unable to complete their high school education, can be awarded a State of Florida High School Diploma. For more information, call (850) 245-9029 or visit: www.fldoe.org/workforce/veteran-diploma.asp