Indiana House lawmakers passed legislation aimed at helping combat veterans prepare for the costs of college.
The bill, which has already passed the Senate, originally gave in-state tuition at public colleges and universities to all military veterans, even those who weren’t Indiana residents. The House added language instituting a tuition freeze for combat veterans. That means the cost of a veteran’s first year of college would be locked in for all four years.
Representative Kreg Battles (D-Vincennes), who offered the amendment, says he wants to help veterans plan for college costs, especially when many scholarship programs are being hindered by cuts in the federal sequester.
“I think it becomes even more important that…especially those who have given so much…that we give them some consistency in what it’s going to cost them, at least the potential cost of a college education, as they come back.”
The bill now heads back to the Senate. Its author, Senator Jim Banks (R-Columbia City), says he’ll have to look closer at the fiscal impact of the altered bill before agreeing to it, though he applauds Battles’ addition.
