House committee revised bill offering tuition refunds for unhealthy veterans

The House Committee on Education recommended an amended bill Wednesday that would refund tuition for veteran students who need to withdraw during a semester due to a medical condition.

Legislators requested an amendment to HB 2113, sponsored by Del. Kathleen Murphy, D-Fairfax, to make its provisions more specific. The bill did not originally state what kind of medical condition and what causes would make a veteran eligible for reimbursement for a leave of absence.

“They can withdraw for the first time due to a service-connected medical condition,” Murphy said. “We wanted to clarify that.”

Qualifying medical conditions include PTSD-related trauma along with physical ailments, according to Murphy.

Additionally, student veterans must have their condition “certified in writing to the institution by a physician licensed to practice medicine,” according to a summary by the Legislative Information System.

The amended bill requires the institution to reimburse the student veteran for the semester tuition, along with any mandatory fees. The student veteran can only qualify for a tuition refund the first time they withdraw due to a medical condition.

The refunded tuition would go back to the student’s GI Bill benefits, Murphy said.

Carrie Ann Alford, the policy director of the Department of Veterans Services in Virginia, said the department supports the bill.

The withdrawal would not affect the student's ability to re-enroll at the institution, according to the bill summary.

The House Education Committee passed the bill with an 20-1 vote, the only nay vote being the Committee Chairman R. Steven Landes, R- Albemarle.

The amended bill was referred to the Committee on Appropriations.