This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Lawmakers have proposed additional funding and reporting for Virginia’s tuition waiver program for families of killed or injured veterans.
A proposal would require annual reporting in December to estimate the number of students enrolled in the VMSDEP program, as well as those who are eligible, but haven’t yet enrolled.
Del. Alex Askew (D–Virginia Beach), who is sponsoring the legislation, said the purpose of gathering additional data is to ensure the program continues.
Historically, the tuition waiver program has been entirely funded by colleges — not the state. But over the past year, universities have spoken up about the high — and rising — cost of the program as enrollment has increased in recent years.
“We want to make sure that it's sustainable and it doesn't give a great financial burden to our universities,” Askew said.
Since 2019, the program’s cost has grown exponentially, according to a House Appropriations summary. In the 2022-23 academic year, over 6,000 students were enrolled in VMSDEP — more than four times as many as in 2018-19.
Del. Mike Feggans (D–Virginia Beach) is another sponsor of the proposal, who said VMSDEP is personal to him. Feggans served in the Air Force for 20 years and has a 100% disabled designation, so his son will be eligible for the program in several years.
“Ultimately, what we're trying to do here in Virginia is trying to be the most attractive place for veterans and their families to retire,” Feggans said.
Last fall’s VMSDEP report from JLARC, the General Assembly’s research agency, shared anecdotal evidence of families choosing to live in Virginia because of the program’s benefits when compared to similar initiatives in other states.
Some advocates were concerned major program cuts could be on the horizon following the JLARC report, which detailed a variety of policy options the Legislature could take to curtail the program’s growth. But that’s not what happened this year.
Kayla Owen, co-founder of the group Friends of VMSDEP, is hoping lawmakers aren’t waiting until after the fall election to propose cuts. Last year, lawmakers made programmatic changes they later rolled back after pressure from military families.
“I don't want us to have the wool pulled over our eyes and say, ‘Oh, well, it's fully funded now,’” Owen said. “And then, two years from now, it's like, ‘Oh, we don't have funding anymore. Sorry, we're cutting it.’”
This year, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s budget proposes $250 million across the biennium for the tuition waiver program. That amount was based in part on projections from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, according to SCHEV finance director Lee Andes.
Youngkin’s proposal included an ongoing annual appropriation of $60 million from surpluses in the college savings program called the Commonwealth Savers Plan, which a spokesperson for the governor said was meant to serve as a permanent funding stream for the waivers.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate have proposed significantly less; both remove the annual $60 million investments from the college savings plan.
According to a House Appropriations report, the tuition waiver cost colleges and universities a total of about $92 million last year. That means Youngkin's proposal could over-fund the program, while the House and Senate proposals could underfund it — depending on how high the costs are in a given year.
Historically, colleges and universities have covered the tuition waiver program’s costs — although the state has been covering the cost of an additional stipend for students who meet VMSDEP eligibility requirements due to a combat-related death or disability.
This fiscal year is the first time the state is investing any money into the VMSDEP program.
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