SB 1188

The "Helping Heroes Act of 2008"" establishes a grant to support veterans in this state to pursue postsecondary education. Present law provides that to be eligible for this grant, v eterans must have received an honorable discharge, be a resident of this state, have b e e n awarded specific military medals, be enroll ed in an eligible program at a postsecondary institution seeking an assoc iate or baccalaureate degree and take at least six semester hours, and have not received a baccalaureate degree. This bill provides that any medal authorized by congress for the armed forces of the United States that is awarded to a member of the armed forces for combat or heroism, meets the medal requirement of the grant. This bill additionally provides that in addition to seeking an associate or baccalaureate degree, an applicant for this grant can, instead, seek a certificate. However, this bill pr o vides that the applicant must not have received a certificate before such application."