A. The Department of Criminal Justice Services shall enter into contracts to make payments to public institutions of higher education and accredited private institutions of higher education whose primary campus is within the Commonwealth for tuition, books, and mandatory fees for any law-enforcement officer of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions, departments, or authorities or any locality of the Commonwealth who (i) is enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis in courses included in an undergraduate or graduate program that leads to a degree or certificate in an area relating to law enforcement or suitable for law-enforcement officers and (ii) enters into an agreement to continue to serve as a law-enforcement officer in the Commonwealth upon completion of his course of study for a period at least as long as the length of the course of study undertaken and paid for under the provisions of this section and, in the event that he does not complete such service, to repay the full amount of such payments on the terms and in the manner that the Department of Criminal Justice Services prescribes.

B. Any individual who receives the benefit of funds expended pursuant to this section shall reimburse such funds to the Department of Criminal Justice Services if he fails to satisfactorily complete the course for which the funds were expended.

The Department of Criminal Justice Services shall use such reimbursed funds in accordance with the purposes of this section.

1972, c. 697, § 23-9.2:4; 1974, c. 162; 1977, c. 162; 1982, c. 18; 1986, c. 236; 2016, c. 588.