Student veterans in Gainesville are reacting to two new pieces of legislation that could affect their tuition.
The GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act, which received a unanimous vote of 390-0 in the House, will allow veterans to choose the school of their choice by requiring all public universities to offer in-state tuition for student veterans.
Although many state universities provide waivers to out-of-state veteran students, schools in Florida are not included in this list, despite Florida having the third largest veteran population in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In response, a similar piece of legislation is going through the Florida State Senate. Senate Bill 84 will require all Florida state universities or college system institutions to waive out-of-state fees for veterans.
UF and Sante Fe College’s Collegiate Veteran Society and UF Student Government are planning to take a trip to Tallahassee to attend a press conference and speak to legislators today about the bill, said Marcus Tucker, the society’s vice president.
“[If the GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act is passed] that makes the legislation that’s going through the state right now all that much easier because all they would be doing is becoming compliant with federal law,” said Matthew Davis, a 26-year-old UF finance graduate and former president of the veteran society.
Davis said he thinks veterans don’t deserve to be treated differently when they come to Florida.
“I didn’t have to compromise my lifestyle when I separated from the military because I was given in-state tuition rate,” Davis said. “But my buddies who were veterans who didn’t were eating Ramen Noodles every day.”
The current bill funding veterans’ tuition, Post-9/11 GI Bill, covers all in-state tuition costs and fees, but for out-of-state students, tuition and fees are capped at the national in-state maximum rate.
The 2013-2014 UF in-state tuition rate is $208.77 per credit hour. Out-of-state tuition is $951.34 per credit hour.
Veteran Danny Makowsky Jr., a 29-year-old UF political science junior, believes UF will comply with the bill because it has always been veteran-friendly.
“We all raised our right hand in oath to defend our country with our life, not the state of Florida,” Makowsky said. “Some of these people in high places … are looking at the dollar sign. I don’t think that’s where the focus should be.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 2/11/2014 under the headline "Bill could lower veterans’ tuition"]
