If a firefighter or certified law enforcement officer or an emergency medical technician dies as a direct result of injuries received in performance of official duties, the survivor, upon being duly accepted for enrollment into any state–supported institution of higher education or state–supported technical or vocational school, shall be allowed to obtain a bachelor’s degree or vocational degree for so long as the survivor is eligible, free of any tuition. However, the bachelor’s degree or vocational degree shall be earned within a thirty–six month or eight–semester period or its equivalent.

Source: SL 1988, ch 160, § 2; SL 1991, ch 159, § 2.