Virginia lawmakers in Richmond have come to an agreement to repeal recent restrictions on a program providing free college tuition at state schools for families of military veterans who died or were seriously disabled during active duty. Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas and House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian announced plans to introduce identical legislation to reverse changes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program that went into effect on Monday. Members of the Senate and House of Delegates will vote on the agreement on July 18.
The proposed legislation will allocate an extra $90 million in taxpayer funds to support the program, in addition to the $40 million already set aside in the budget. Over the past five years, program costs have increased from $12 million to $65 million. Previously, state colleges covered expenses with state funds and tuition from other students.
Lucas stated that the new proposal will designate $65 million annually for the program while the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, a task force appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and a Senate work group conduct a comprehensive review. The aim is to ensure that the escalating program costs do not burden other students through increased tuition fees.
To address the program’s escalating costs, the budget deal approved by the General Assembly in May limited eligibility to associate and undergraduate degrees, made it mandatory for participants to seek other financial aid, and enforced stricter residency requirements. Following objections from military families, the House of Delegates voted last week to repeal these new restrictions, while the Senate did not act after meeting twice in two weeks.
Governor Youngkin praised the agreed-upon repeal, indicating that it will provide additional financial support for the VMSDEP program without any additional provisions. Youngkin expressed his support on the social platform X.
