(a) There is hereby established the Virgin Islands National Guard Scholarship Fund to be administered by the Virgin Islands Board of Education for the purpose of providing scholarships to children of members and officers of the National Guard of the Virgin Islands who die or sustain permanent total disability in the line of official duty while on territorial active military duty, federal active duty, or training duty.
(b) Scholarships for children of deceased or disabled members and officers of the National Guard of the Virgin Islands shall be for all undergraduate matriculation fees and tuition at the University of the Virgin Islands only for a period not to exceed four years, provided that the recipient otherwise meets the qualifications and admission standards of that institution.
(c) For purposes of this section, “children” means persons under the age of twenty-five who were dependent upon a member or officer for support, totally or partially, at the time of the member's or officer's death or injury.
(d) The Commissioner of Finance shall be the trustee of the National Guard Scholarship Fund and shall manage the fund in such a manner as to preserve its pecuniary value and shall do all things lawful to increase or preserve the assets of the fund. The Commissioner of Finance shall make such scholarship grants out of the fund as may be authorized by the Virgin Islands Board of Education pursuant to this section.
(e) There is authorized to be appropriated annually, out of any available funds in the Treasury of the United States Virgin Islands, a sum not to exceed $15,000 for deposit in the Virgin Islands National Guard Scholarship Fund.