Higher Education Legislative Plan Grant Program; amend.

A new eight-semester tuition scholarship was established for spouses and children of Mississippi law enforcement officers, full-time firefighters, and volunteer firefighters who die or become permanently and totally disabled while performing official duties. The scholarship covers tuition at any state-supported college or university but excludes books, food, supplies, materials, and extracurricular fees.

The bill's short title was expanded to reflect the new amendment to Section 37-106-39 regarding the definition of Mississippi law enforcement officer, in addition to the original tuition assistance provisions.

Children must be under age 23 at the start of a semester or quarter to receive benefits, though those who already began earning credits before turning 23 retain eligibility for all eight semesters even if interrupted. Spouses must have been legally married at the time of death and not remarried (for deaths on or after March 13, 1990). Self-inflicted wounds or self-induced death disqualify the claim.

A detailed definition of 'Mississippi law enforcement officers' was added covering state highway patrolmen, municipal police, sheriffs and deputies, constables, conservation officers, ABC Division agents, National Guard peace officers on state emergency duty, tax commission scales enforcement officers, Bureau of Narcotics agents, correctional/probation/parole officers, and a catch-all for any full-time state or political subdivision employee whose primary responsibility is prevention/detection of crime, apprehension of criminals, or enforcement of criminal and traffic laws.

Scholarship renewal requires steady academic progress toward a certificate or degree per the school's Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards and a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale at the end of each academic year.

Disability claims require four supporting documents (supervisor letter, physician statement, Public Employees' Retirement System verification, and Social Security Administration verification). Death claims require two documents (supervisor letter and death certificate). The board must investigate and validate all claims before granting a scholarship.

Two additional senators (Brumfield and Butler) were added as co-sponsors. The effective date provision was renumbered from Section 2 to Section 3 to accommodate the new scholarship section.