Admitting a mistake can be difficult, but state lawmakers and Gov. Glenn Youngkin were right last week to reverse changes made to a tuition program that drew passionate objections from Virginia’s military community.
Now state officials must learn from this error. Not only should they carefully consider studies now underway to ensure the future viability of the program, they should commit to making the budget process more transparent in the future to ensure that consequential decisions receive the scrutiny they deserve before passage rather than after the fact.
The General Assembly last week agreed on a full repeal of changes made to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP), which provides tuition to in-state public universities for the families of service members killed or wounded in defense of the nation.
The program dates back to World War I, and was originally intended to assist families of those wounded in that terrible conflict pursue a college degree. In recent years, however, it had expanded to include those seeking postgraduate study, dependents of those with non-combat related injuries, and family members of service members from outside of Virginia.
The effect of that widening pool of recipients was to rapidly drive up costs. While the VMSDEP provided tuition to 2,000 students in 2019, that number had ballooned to more than 6,000 in 2023. The cumulative cost was $65.3 million last year and projections had it climbing ever higher in future years.
Richmond only picks up a portion of the tab, leaving Virginia colleges and universities to absorb the rest — an unsustainable ask for schools, many of which are already tightening their belts and raising tuition to cover costs. The two-year budget approved earlier this year appropriated only $20 million for the program.
Lawmakers and the governor were right to consider ways to slow growth and limit the growing expense of the VMSDEP. But while the reforms may have been well intentioned, they were poorly executed.
Language included in the budget limited assistance to those pursuing an undergraduate degree and Virginia residents, and would have required applicants to apply for other financial aid programs before receiving funds through VMSDEP.
Military families protested those changes and called for a full repeal. After the Senate initially stalled, leaders there reached agreement with the House and the governor’s office to follow through last week.
They appropriated an additional $90 for the program over the next two years and, importantly, directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study ways to make VMSDEP sustainable for families and schools going forward. The governor also launched a task force in May to offer suggestions about strengthening the program.
Expect legislative proposals to be considered when the General Assembly convenes in January. A robust debate should help lawmakers find workable solutions to a valuable program that serves our military community.
But that’s not enough.
While thankful for the repeal, Kayla Owen, a military spouse and leader of the Friends of VMSDEP advocacy group, criticized lawmakers for legislating through the budget. She called on them to stop “sneaking contentious or highly controversial legislation through the budget,” according to the Virginia Mercury.
Some legislative leaders pushed back on that assertion, but in recent years, the state budget has rarely been completed within the legislative session limits imposed by the state Constitution. That often leaves a few lawmakers and a handful of officials in the governor’s office to hash out an agreement away from public view. The deal is then delivered to the General Assembly for approval.
That’s troubling when the budget includes policy changes, such as those made to the VMSDEP, that deserve public scrutiny, but do not receive the same attention given to other proposals subject to the legislative process.
The most important thing is that lawmakers and the governor found common ground to make this right. But by emphasizing transparency in future years, lawmakers may well avoid these sorts of mistakes and the extra time and energy required to rectify them.
