New York Regents Award for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans

The Regents Award for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans pays $450 per year toward study at an approved New York postsecondary institution. It is a modest amount and it has stayed at $450 for a long time, but two features make it worth claiming. First, it is not income tested. A family that earns too much for the Tuition Assistance Program can still receive this. Second, it is paid in addition to other awards rather than being offset against them, so it stacks on top of TAP, the Veterans Tuition Award, and federal aid. Eligibility runs through the parent, or a step-parent the student depends on (Education Law section 668). The parent must have served on active duty in a recognized period (the two World Wars, with the merchant seamen and civilian groups the section names; Korea; Vietnam; the Persian Gulf from August 2, 1990; Afghanistan from September 18, 2001; Iraq from October 16, 2002), or have received an expeditionary medal for Lebanon, Grenada or Panama. And the parent must have died from that service while a New York resident, be a New York resident with a current service-connected disability of 40% or more, have died a New York resident while rated 40% or more, or be a former prisoner of war or missing in action. VA or service determinations of disability or death are conclusive. The award runs up to four academic years, or five in a five-year programme. The student has to be a New York resident attending an approved program in New York, and the veteran parent must be or have been a New York resident. The 40% floor is a real gate here, and it is one of the few places in New York where a specific rating percentage decides the outcome rather than scaling the amount. A student whose parent is rated 30% does not qualify on the disability path. Apply through the Higher Education Services Corporation, which requires the award application plus documentation of the parent's service and disability, death, or status.