Everyone from the governor, the VA secretary and down the line likes to call Florida "the most veteran friendly state in the nation." And some veterans are saying “okay - prove it.”
Student veterans are challenging lawmakers and the governor to pass legislation that would give them a break on college tuition. Almost a dozen states give military veterans in-state tuition waivers even if they’ve just moved there. That’s the experience of Andrew Napier who served 6 years in the Army National Guard and is now applicant to medical school at the University of South Florida.
"I’m coming from Kentucky. They were able to give it to the veterans. We have lawmakers there that say hey we support veterans but this is backed up by a law" Napier said.
Napier is a Pat Tillman Military Scholar. Named after an NFL player who joined the military after 9-11 – the Tillman scholarships are awarded to veterans for their academic and military excellence and ongoing community service. Napier says its time for Florida lawmakers pass in-state tuition for veterans.
"There needs to be substance behind the words that say that veteran friendly just to say something is one thing but actually to act on this is going to be very beneficial to the people not just to veterans but to the community", said Napier.
Bills that would establish in-state tuition for veterans have been proposed previously but never passed. This year, Senate Bill 260 by Senator Jack Latvala grant veterans in-state tuition rates. It’s a benefit already extended to active-duty military.
Kiersten Downs, a veteran of the Air Force and New York Air National Guard, is president of the USF student veterans’s group.
"Now that it’s becoming a hot button issue again we are talking to student government here at USF who is diligently working to advocate and push this issue for student veterans", said Downs.
Downs says there are roughly 1,400 veterans and dependents receiving GI education benefits at USF. And as a doctoral student she knows what it’s like when those benefits are used up.
"My specific example is I am a graduate assistant so I do have a tuition waiver at this time", explained Downs. "Once that runs out I will have to pay out of state tuition from my understanding the only way to get in-state is to drop out of school for a year and work and gain the instate tuition status."
Or like some of her friends – Kiersten says – the other choice is to leave the state which means a brain-drain of educated and battle tested veterans.
"I have friends who are graduates who have maybe recently gotten their undergraduate who are actually moving back to the state of Texas to go to graduate school because of the more friendly veteran friendly environment and instate tuition offered there", Downs said.
"When you pursue a graduate degree you’re older you’re not an 18-22 year old and are looking to settle down and put down roots", said Napier.
Andrew Napier says veterans are the kind of residents Florida should try to keep
"So if Florida wants to be more attractive to veterans and wants to keep people around and have sustainable income lower that tuition let people be residents that are here so they stay", said Napier. "They’re just losing money people will travel out just because the bids not accessible to them."
The student veterans did not have an estimate on what it would cost extending in-state tuition to all veterans. However, both said the cost would be worth it for Florida’s future.