WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, has introduced legislation that would pay for college or job training for the children of teachers, first responders and social workers who spend at least 20 years in full-time public service.
The bill, called the Public Service Educational Assistance Act, would direct the U.S. Department of Education to cover tuition, fees and books at public colleges and universities, or at public training programs that lead to a recognized postsecondary credential, for eligible dependents.
“These public service employees perform among the most challenging and important functions in our communities, so that is why I am proud to introduce this bill that relieves the financial burden of them sending their children to college or job training programs,” Figures said.
The measure has bipartisan backing. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and U.S. Reps. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., and Mike Ezell, R-Miss., joined Figures in introducing it.
The bill at a glance
- Name: Public Service Educational Assistance Act
- Lead sponsor: U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala.
- Co-leads: Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn.; Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss.
- Who qualifies: Dependents of educators, first responders and certain social workers with at least 20 years of full-time qualifying service
- What it covers: Tuition, fees and books at public colleges, universities and public credential-granting training programs
- How long: Up to four academic years
- Age limit for dependents: 26
- Tax treatment: Exempt from federal income tax
- Effective date: One year after enactment
- Endorsements: International Association of Fire Fighters, Major Cities Chiefs Association and National Association of Social Workers, according to Figures’ office
Who would be eligible
To qualify, a parent or guardian would need to work full time in an eligible position for at least 20 years. The bill defines full-time work as at least 40 hours a week. The employee would also have to be in an eligible job when the law takes effect or begin qualifying service after that date.
The bill sorts eligible workers into three groups.
Educators
Employees of public elementary and secondary schools, public school systems, and state and local education agencies would qualify.
First responders
The bill’s definition is broad. It includes law enforcement officers, firefighters, 911 operators, fire dispatchers, emergency medical services personnel, certain emergency management employees, government prosecutors and public defenders, and certain U.S. Department of Energy nuclear emergency personnel.
Social workers
Employees of government agencies that provide mental health or child welfare services would be eligible.
How the benefit would work
Dependents could receive the assistance for up to four academic years. The bill borrows the federal tax code’s definition of a dependent but raises the age threshold to 26, which would allow many students who start college later, or who take longer to finish, to remain eligible.
Students could combine the benefit with other federal financial aid, including grants and loans. That could help cover costs the bill does not address, such as housing, meals and transportation, which often make up a large share of the total cost of attending college.
The assistance would not be counted as taxable income, and it would not be treated as wages or compensation when determining a worker’s eligibility for retirement or other employment benefits.
Because the bill limits coverage to public institutions and public training programs, students attending private colleges would not be eligible for the benefit under the text as introduced.
Figures: Recognizing the ‘backbone of communities’
Figures framed the proposal as a way to reward long careers in jobs that are often demanding and modestly paid.
“I’m committed to making sure that we recognize the sacrifices made by people who are the backbone of communities in Alabama and across America, and that we invest in real opportunities for their families,” Figures said.
Figures’ office said the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the National Association of Social Workers have endorsed the bill.
How it compares with existing programs
Several federal and state programs already help public servants and their families with education costs, but most are narrower in scope.
- Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance: A federal program run by the U.S. Department of Justice provides education benefits to the spouses and children of public safety officers who were killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.
- Alabama survivors’ assistance: Alabama offers tuition help to the dependents of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness: The federal PSLF program can forgive remaining federal student loan balances for workers in government and qualifying nonprofit jobs after 10 years of qualifying payments. It helps the workers themselves, not their children.
The Figures bill would differ from those programs by tying a benefit for children to the length of a parent’s career rather than to a death, disability or the parent’s own student debt.
The co-sponsors
The lineup of co-leads brings together lawmakers with ties to the professions the bill targets. Hayes, a former high school history teacher, was named National Teacher of the Year in 2016 before being elected to Congress. Ezell, a Mississippi Republican whose district includes the state’s Gulf Coast, served as sheriff of Jackson County, Mississippi, before joining the House. Booker, a former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, is the Senate sponsor.
Ezell’s participation gives the measure a Republican co-lead in the GOP-controlled House, and a Gulf Coast neighbor for Figures, whose Mobile home sits about an hour’s drive from Ezell’s district.
What happens next
Like most newly introduced bills, the measure would first be referred to committee. In the House, education legislation generally goes to the Committee on Education and the Workforce; in the Senate, to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Committees decide whether to hold hearings and vote on bills, and many introduced bills do not advance beyond that stage in a given Congress.
If the bill moves forward, it would likely receive a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate, which would give lawmakers a projection of how much the program would cost taxpayers. The benefit itself would begin one year after the bill is signed into law.
The political backdrop
Figures, who was first elected in 2024, is seeking a second term in Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District, where he faces Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise in the Nov. 3 general election. The district now leans more heavily toward the Wiregrass, Montgomery and the eastern Black Belt after the state returned to its 2023 congressional map this year. The race is considered one of the most closely watched in the South, with both national parties investing heavily.
Before running for Congress, Figures worked in the Obama administration and later held senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice.