Burns’ bill guaranteeing in-state tuition for military families passes key Senate committee vote

Rep. Frank Burns    November 20, 2019

HARRISBURG, Nov. 20 – Closing a loophole to guarantee in-state tuition rates for military families in Pennsylvania moved one step closer to becoming law following a Senate committee vote today, state Rep. Frank Burns announced.

Burns, D-Cambria, said his bill was unanimously approved in the state Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee and would guarantee in-state tuition rates for military families as soon as a student enrolls in a public college or university – regardless of whether their military parent is later reassigned out of state.

“These students shouldn’t be penalized because their parents chose to join the armed forces and, through no fault of their own, are reassigned to another state,” Burns said. “They shouldn’t have to pay higher tuition rates for serving our country. We owe our military families a debt of gratitude, not higher student debt.”

Currently, Burns said dependents of military personnel in Pennsylvania who enroll at a public college or university in Pennsylvania are charged in-state tuition rates. However, the U.S. Department of Defense found some students lost that in-state rate due to a parent’s reassignment outside of Pennsylvania, between the day the student was accepted to the college or university and the first day of the semester.

House Bill 1050, which has support from both parties, now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.

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