This story was reported and written by VPM News.
The growing number of people using a Virginia program that waives tuition for the family of killed or disabled service members is tied to a 2019 legislative change expanding its eligibility, according to a new report presented Monday.
General Assembly lawmakers called for a report on the Virginia Military Survivors & Dependents Education Program, or VMSDEP, last year after they approved controversial changes designed to rein in the cost of the program — only to roll them back over the summer following a public outcry.
The current program waives up to eight semesters of tuition and fees at Virginia’s public institutions for the spouses, children or stepchildren of veterans severely disabled or killed as a result of their military service.
In its report, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that about two-thirds of the growth in VMSDEP enrollment was linked to a piece of 2019 legislation that widened eligibility to include family members of veterans injured or killed while on duty. Prior to the passage of the bill, only the families of veterans disabled or killed in combat would qualify.
JLARC also reviewed 25 veteran education benefit programs in other states and found that 23 of them offered benefits to family members for service-related disabilities.
The report found that over 80% of those who used the program in the 2023–24 academic year were the children of qualifying veterans. Most students are using the program for undergraduate coursework, though the portion of students utilizing it for graduate coursework is growing.
“It’s a variety of things that are pushing this program up,” said Justin Brown, senior associate director at JLARC.
JLARC indicated that there’s no indication that the program’s growth will wane in the near future — and detailed several policy options for lawmakers to consider to sustain its foreseeable growth.
Options include allocating additional state funds, limiting the program’s eligibility and scope — or a combination of the two.
Some proposed changes included limiting VMSDEP eligibility to undergraduate coursework and making residency changes. According to JLARC, about half of similar state-run programs require veterans to have a tie to their state, like having entered service in Virginia.
“I think the Legislature needs to decide what do they want out of this program,” Brown said. “If they want it to be a reason why people move to Virginia, because we have great higher education institutions and it's a valuable benefit, it might be having that effect if that's not really the intent.”
Another policy option was to cap the program by limiting the amount of tuition waived per student or the number of tuition waivers offered each year.
“Some of the options try to set a benefit amount so that the benefit amount is predictable, even if the participation continues to grow,” said Tracey Smith, associate director at JLARC.
Whatever state lawmakers choose to do, Smith pointed out that it’s important for lawmakers to consider the fact that many people are already registered and have been deemed eligible for VMSDEP; veterans can sign up their dependents when they turn 16.
“[The Department of Veterans Services] has a lot of students who are already registered, who are not actually accessing the benefit yet, but have declared that they plan to do so,” Smith said. “And so that is something to consider, that those folks potentially be grandfathered in, depending on what change we're talking about.”
Some of the policy options presented in JLARC’s report mirrored or closely reflected the changes that lawmakers made — then reversed following public outcry from the veteran community.
Kayla Owen, co-founder of the group Friends of VMSDEP, has been outspoken about the changes. She told VPM News on Monday she thought the report was rushed and wished JLARC would’ve done a deeper dive to better reflect the actual needs of the population VMSDEP benefits.
Owen was shocked that a credit-hour system for using the VMSDEP benefits wasn’t floated. Right now, benefits are allocated on a per-semester basis — meaning any credit hours less than a full semester’s courseload are forfeit if they aren’t used.
Owen also cited mental health concerns for spouses who are caring for disabled veterans and young children at the same time.
“You're basically caring for these two populations simultaneous to one another, while also potentially holding down a job,” Owen said. “How would it even be feasible for that population to then also go to school full-time?”
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