Virginia changes educational benefit for veterans' families (2024)

Veterans and their family members who planned to use an educational benefit from the state are calling recent changes to the program “the largest rollback of veteran benefits in Virginia history.”

The Friends of VMSDEP, which stands for Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, are referring to state budget bills signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week. The new legislation changes the nature of the benefit and shifts control from the Department of Veterans Services to the State Council of Higher Education Virginia, or SCHEV.

It is “an attack on Gold Star and disabled veterans families in Virginia,” said Kayla Owen of Stafford County, who helped form the Friends group. “Legislators’ failure to uphold the compact with Virginia’s veterans in favor of whining by the SCHEV about costs without a study speaks volumes about how much Virginia truly values its veterans.”

In the past, VMSDEP has covered educational costs for spouses and children of military members killed, missing in action, taken prisoner or rated at least 90% disabled after service in an armed conflict.

But unprecedented growth in use of the benefit over the last five years has “made it difficult for institutions to make budget projections and (plan), and is expected to result in higher tuition charges for all students,” said Lee Andes, interim director of finance, policy and innovation at SCHEV.

Participation in VMSDEP has grown five-fold in the past five years with the cost of the benefit increasing from $12 million in 2018-19 to $64.4 million in 2022-23, Andes wrote in an email to The Free Lance–Star. That level of growth is projected to continue the next two years.

“Well, that’s what happens when you spend 20 years at war,” said Caitlin Goodale–Porter, a Stafford veteran, referring to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SCHEV had recommended that legislators consider amending the program, providing financial offsets or a combination of the two.

“Now that the changes are official,” Andes said, “SCHEV will work in conjunction with the administration and various stakeholders to develop program guidance based on the new language.”

However, Wednesday night, Youngkin issued a directive to establish a stakeholder-driven task force to review the changes and develop guidance and other materials to minimize the impact on veterans and their families. He also directed the task force to consider “further program changes and provide recommendations to address any unintended consequences of the reforms recently passed by the General Assembly.

The task force will recommend changes ahead of next year’s enrollment deadline, Youngkin said.

The governor also said he was eager to work with stakeholders, including Gold Star families, to ensure the program’s sustainability and to advise SCHEV on new eligibility requirements.

Before Youngkin made that announcement, the Friends of VMSDEP said turning over a veterans program to an educational council is the equivalent of letting the fox guard the henhouse. In addition to shifting program control, the changes will make VMSDEP a “last payer,” to be used only after students have exhausted other local, state and federal funding, such as FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Graduate degrees no longer will be covered by VMSDEP. That effectively eliminates the benefit for military spouses, according to the Friends, who say it will cut off educational access to those planning to get degrees in critical areas of need in Virginia, such as health care and education.

There’s no grandfathered option, so only those who committed to a college by Wednesday, May 15, will be covered by VMSDEP this summer or fall. Traditionally, those applying to colleges for their first year usually commit by May 1, according to the Best College website.

Andes said the most immediate impact of the budget bill is the requirement that students complete the federal FAFSA form.

“We anticipate that the new language will have minimal other impact until new students enroll (in) spring of 2025 and thereafter,” Andes said.

The Friends of VMSDEP presented a petition to the General Assembly with more than 4,000 signatures and are continuing to work with legislators to “make it right,” Owen said.

State Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, also asked for a study to “find a viable long-term solution to help our veterans community.” In remarks on the General Assembly floor this week, he said the state couldn’t offer a program to those who have “worn the cloth of our country,” then rip it away.

“This program is not a handout, it’s not something to be taken lightly,” Reeves said. “It’s something that has been sacrificed for in blood and in bodily capabilities.”