Cut Benefits Info:

The benefits we had before May 15, 2024. (National Police Memorial Day)!  Surviving spouses and children (not step-children) between age 16 and 26 had a waiver for undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and supplies.  Students had to make satisfactory academic progress.  The only paperwork we had to do was get a letter from the chief or sheriff stating that our officer was a LODD.  You could take as few or as many credits as you wanted per semester, as many semesters per year as you wanted, get a degree or just take classes.

Here was the new law:

restricting benefits to 4 years or its equivalent - whatever that means

dropping books and supplies waiver

biggest one - forcing you to use PSOB, other scholarships, financial aid, and your own money first.  Effectively using up PSOB so you can't use it for what you need to use it for, like room and board.  And we all know it takes years to get PSOB after you file!

also - putting the decisions about this program in the hands of SCHEV - the colleges.  Naturally they will deny everything they can.

Here are some suggestions for emails: 

Dear _______________,

My name is __________________ and I am the surviving ________ of _____________ who died in the line of duty on _________. I write today on behalf of myself and nearly 200 other spouses and children urging you to consider the surviving families of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty and the education benefits provided for by Line of Duty Death Act, State Statute 23.1-609.

When my husband died wearing the ______________ on his chest, he was making $_______ a year. Since his passing, I have had to forgo that income, and raise my __________ all by myself. Already financially straining, I was able to rest easy knowing that the State would waive the cost of tuition for instate schools when my child was old enough to go to college. My child and I planned our lives around having access to those educational benefits and relying on the State of Virginia to fill the gap that my husband’s salary left.

Recently, my family and I learned that the State legislature repealed those benefits and imposed additional burdens on surviving families before they might have access to any benefits for higher education support. We of course recognize the constraints on State budgets, and the need to cut costs where necessary. Indeed, if anyone knows the challenges of balancing a budget, it's a single mother with two kids. We are nevertheless profoundly sorry that this legislation was passed without consultation from those who rely on its benefits and, moreover, without our knowledge.

I would not wish someone to walk in my families’ shoes. I have raised my _____ alone. I have held him many nights as he sobbed for his dad. I have picked him up from school on the days they were making Father’s Day gifts, the days he was instructed to create a family tree, the days that were just too hard for him. As he grew, I can’t begin to imagine the pain in his heart of getting fatherly advice from YouTube, learning how to tie a tie, shave, or ask someone out on a date. In spite of our loss, we have succeeded. Our _________ has grown to be _____________. His hard work landed him a spot in the _____ class at _______________________ University.

He is not alone. He is among 63 other surviving children who have planned their lives according to the benefits that the State has promised. State budget bills are often all about numbers. There are two numbers you should remember: 63 children, and 1 vote. 1 vote to restore peace of mind and so much more.

As is clear, my family, and the hundreds of families like mine, have experienced deeper tragedies than losing access to affordable higher education. After all, they don’t call us survivors for no reason. But I dearly hope that we will not have to weather the extreme difficulty of financing college now, when for so long, the State had told us we should pay no mind.

My husband’s death has cost me so much. I’ve lost my life partner, the father to my children, and a shoulder to cry on when I’ve needed it. But today I am reminded that no matter how many years go by, no matter how many tears are shed, the costs keep coming.

For my son, and the 63 other children who have planned their lives around—and actively rely on—the benefits the State has promised, please consider the Virginia Line of Duty Death Act in future bills.

Or:

Dear ____________,

I am the widow of __________, a _____________officer who was killed in the line of duty on ________. At the time, our ___children were ages ___________. 

May 15 is National Peace Officers Memorial Day. On that day, legislators signed the budget dishonoring my husband and his sacrifice by stripping away college waiver benefits for his children and me.   The cowardly way it was sneaked into the budget without discussion proves that you knew you were wrong. 

When police officers swear the oath to protect their community with their life, they are promised that if they die, their family will be "taken care of."  To me, this feels like a personal knife in the heart. My children have already used these waivers to get degrees and good jobs. But there are more widows and children coming after us, because officers are still protecting citizens with their lives. 

Why are you trying to make our lives harder? 

Like raising children who will never see their parent again, while you yourself are grieving, isn't already hard enough. Like trying to keep your family putting one foot in front of the other every day, praying your kids will be functional enough to graduate from high school, isn't already hard enough. Like getting into college and then explaining to the unbelieving bursar that you aren't paying because your parent is dead, and doing it again every single semester, isn't already hard enough. 

Instead of just arguing with a clueless bursar as you fight your way up to the dean, you may have to fill out FAFSA and then pay for college yourself, then apply for financial aid, then wait to be reimbursed, then, then, then... And who is to say you won't be denied?   

This is not a needs-based program. Our families have earned it; my husband with his blood and his kids and I with our tears. 

These disgraceful cuts don't only apply to police orphans; they apply to families of all first responders who died in the line of duty, killed and missing soldiers, and disabled veterans. This is the way Virginia wants to treat the families of its heroes? 

Repeal the changes to the waiver programs! 

The price we paid is already too high. 

To see bills, go to: https://lis.virginia.gov/.  Click bills and resolutions, then click "day", and choose the day.