Burns’ in-state tuition for military families bill passes House

Legislation now heads to state Senate

HARRISBURG, June 9 – Striking a victory for military service members and their families, state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, today announced his legislation that would guarantee military families in Pennsylvania receive in-state tuition at public colleges or universities even if a parent is deployed or reassigned out-of-state has passed the state House.

“Today the House voted unanimously to pass my legislation guaranteeing in-state tuition for military families,” Burns said. “Service members’ families shouldn’t be penalized if a parent is transferred outside of Pennsylvania. We owe these families our support, and this bill’s passage will make sure they’re not punished with higher college tuition costs for decisions beyond their control.”

Burns said H.B. 941 would ensure military families are guaranteed the in-state tuition rate as soon as a student enrolls or registers at a community college or submits an enrollment deposit to a four-year public college or university, even if their military parent is later reassigned to another state. Under current Pennsylvania law, 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.

Last year similar legislation by Burns, D-Cambria, made it all the way to the state Senate before session ended, leaving the legislation one vote shy of becoming law.

“Last year, I couldn’t believe that the Senate left without passing this legislation,” Burns said. “With this bill’s passage today, this gives the Senate the chance to fix that – and to extend these benefits to our military service members.”