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Tuition bill lets troops pay in-state rate

A House committee is considering a bill that could lower college tuition costs for active-duty service members, their spouses and their children.

The bill, HR 3780, would require states to charge in-state tuition rates for military families that are living in a state on government orders.

The in-state discount can make a huge difference. The College Board, a nonprofit group made up of more than 5,300 colleges and universities, reports the average in-state tuition was $4,081 last year but $10,418 for out-of-state residents.

Getting in-state tuition has been a major push for military associations but they have faced a variety of hurdles, including reluctance in Congress to tell state-run colleges how much they can charge.

Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, the bill’s chief sponsor, said he hopes to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include a military clause promising in-state tuition for military families living in or stationed in a state.

According to Edwards’ staff, 33 states already have laws that closely follow the criteria in the bill, but 17 states do not extend in-state tuition to the children of service members. Under the bill, called the Military Child College Affordability Act, in-state tuition would continue to be charged for a spouse or child even if a service member is transferred out of state before a student graduates.

“We should not be penalizing military families with higher tuition costs because their country asked them to move from state to state,” said Edwards, chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee responsible for military quality-of-life issues.