Gov. Glenn Youngkin wants to hear recommendations from a stakeholder work group before making significant changes to the military survivor and dependent tuition waiver, which is growing increasingly expensive for Virginia colleges.
Youngkin added the proposed work group as one of more than 200 amendments to the two-year budget bill he returned Monday to General Assembly lawmakers. While the goal is to find ways to improve the long-term viability of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, delaying reforms means colleges will have to absorb growing costs of the program for at least another year.
If the amendment passes, the stakeholder group would be tasked with making recommendations on legislative actions and budgetary modifications by Nov. 1. The group would consider the history, current structure and utilization trends in recommending changes.
“There is a win-win here, somewhere,” said Caitlin Goodale-Porter, an advocate for the program and an Army and Coast Guard veteran.
Virginia鈥檚 Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program provides a tuition waiver to spouses and children of veterans who are killed, missing in action, taken prisoner or at least 90% permanently disabled as a result of military service or combat. The program also provides an annual stipend to offset the costs of room, board, books and supplies for qualified survivors and dependents of military service members.
The budget previously included reforms proposed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia that would have limited eligibility to first-time Virginia undergraduate students and required students to apply for and use other eligible federal and state financial aid first. The previous language said waivers would cover the last-dollar cost of tuition, including after scholarships and a proportion of federal gift aid and expected family contribution as determined by the higher education agency.
These reforms were recommended to rein in the tuition waivers’ cost, which nearly quadrupled from $12 million in 2019 to $46.3 million in 2022, according to the council. Projections show the lost tuition revenue will likely grow to over $190 million by 2026.
Hampton Roads universities, and others across the state, have been forced to absorb the lost revenue or spread the cost of the waiver to other students. The cost of the tuition waiver is expected to exceed $13 million at Old Dominion University for the upcoming school year, ODU spokesperson Amber Kennedy said.
Goodale-Porter recently began circulating an online petition advocating against the reforms, which she said could end the dreams of would-be higher education students. She is a William & Mary alumna and mom of two children who benefits from the waiver. The petition had more than 3,000 signatures as of Wednesday.
Goodale-Porter took issue with previous budget language that would have required students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and potentially pay an expected family contribution.
“It would mean now you are on the hook for say $8,000. That is a game changer for these families. It is the difference between going to George Mason University or a local community college,” she said.
In completing the federal aid application, other aid could be identified and given to the institution to help offset the cost of the program, said Lee Andes, interim director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
But Goodale-Porter said doing so makes the military survivor and dependent tuition waiver need-based.
“I think that sends it down the wrong path,” she said. “This is an earned benefit and people take justified pride in having at least this to offer their family members.”
The secretary of finance, the secretary of veterans and defense affairs and the secretary of education would collaborate to form the stakeholder workgroup. The group would also include the director of the Department of Planning and Budget or a designee, a member of the Board of Veterans Services, a member of the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations, two General Assembly lawmakers who were previously members of the Military and Veterans Caucus, a beneficiary of the program and representatives of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and public institutions of higher education.
The amendment would push the timeline for program reform, but Youngkin approved $10 million per year over the next two years to offset institutions鈥� loss of revenue from the tuition waivers. While lawmakers previously included $20 million per year, the relief represents the first time institutions would receive state funding to help absorb some of the cost.
Lawmakers will consider the amendment next week when they reconvene.
“We really appreciate the fact that the governor did listen and we feel kind of empowered,” Goodale-Porter said. “It’s a good feeling, and it’s wonderful to know that we’re being heard.”
Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
