Family Law and Human Services - Guardianship Assistance Program and State Foster Youth Ombudsman - Establishment (Kanaiyah's Law)
HB0980 expands eligibility for the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program, a Maryland higher-education scholarship for military, public safety, and certain other affected families. The bill adds a new eligible category for the son, daughter, or stepchild, or the surviving spouse, of a member of the U.S. armed forces who is or was eligible for federal Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance benefits because of the veteran’s disability rating. In practical terms, this extends scholarship access to additional dependents of disabled veterans who qualify for federal education assistance.
The bill also authorizes new ways to prove eligibility. An applicant may submit a copy of a Chapter 35 certificate of eligibility, and if that document cannot be obtained, a school certifying official or institutional liaison may verify eligibility for the federal benefit. The act is set to take effect July 1, 2026, and it amends the Education Article provisions governing the Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program.
The bill amends Maryland Education Article § 18-601 to broaden who may receive the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program and to streamline eligibility verification at postsecondary institutions. It affects applicants who are dependents or surviving spouses of disabled veterans, and it gives colleges and universities an additional role in confirming Chapter 35 eligibility when documentation is unavailable. The bill does not create a new program; it modifies an existing scholarship statute and its administrative procedures.
The available legislative history suggests the bill was generally supported, as it received a favorable committee report with amendments and House adoption. No recorded votes or committee transcript objections are provided in the materials, so there is no evidence of organized opposition in the supplied record. The overall tone appears to be one of support for expanding educational access for military families and simplifying the application process.
The main policy issue is the scope of eligibility expansion and how it should be verified. Supporters appear to favor including dependents of veterans who qualify for Chapter 35 benefits, likely to align state scholarship eligibility with federal veterans’ education assistance. Any potential concern would center on administrative verification—whether institutions should rely on a certificate of eligibility or be allowed to make their own verification when applicants cannot obtain the document—but the bill expressly addresses that by authorizing school certifying officials and institutional liaisons to verify eligibility.