Education Reimbursement Program Benefitting NH’s First Responders Expanded To Include Dispatchers

CONCORD, NH — The Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH), New Hampshire Department of Safety, Police Standards and Training Council, and state Sen. David Watters (D-4), proudly announce expanded eligibility for the First Responder program, designed to support development, recruitment, and retention efforts to bolster public safety statewide.

Effective with the passage of House Bill 2 for Fiscal Year 2026, public safety telecommunicators and dispatchers are now also eligible to participate in the program, which provides reimbursement for the cost of one or more courses per semester, including required tuition and fees, for non-credit or degree courses at any of the seven institutions in New Hampshire’s community college system. Reimbursements are subject to eligibility, available funding, and successful completion. Participating employees must be certified as eligible by their employers and complete the documentation required by CCSNH.

Law enforcement officers, as well as current full-time, part-time, on-call, or volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians, are already eligible for reimbursements under the initial version of the program, which was first announced in December 2023. Watters, who represents Barrington, Dover, Rollinsford, and Somersworth, was the primary sponsor of the initial bill that was later signed into law.

Firefighters who attend the New Hampshire Fire Academy are also eligible for full reimbursement of the academy costs not covered by other funding sources. Additional information, including details about specific programs and courses, is available on the CCSNH website.

About CCSNH

The Community College System of NH consists of seven colleges, offering associate degree and certificate programs, professional training, transfer pathways to four-year degrees, and dual-credit partnerships with New Hampshire high schools. The System’s colleges are Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth; Lakes Region Community College in Laconia; Manchester Community College; Nashua Community College; NHTI – Concord’s Community College; River Valley Community College in Claremont, Lebanon and Keene; and White Mountains Community College in Berlin and Littleton. The seven community colleges in the system are committed to collaborating with businesses throughout the state to train and retain employees, thereby developing a robust workforce.

Submitted by the Community College System of NH