WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

House passes Stanford bill to make college more affordable for active duty service members

OLYMPIA – Today the House of Representatives unanimously passed Rep. Derek Stanford’s (D – Bothell) bill to make college more affordable for active duty service members.

House Bill 1706 would allow universities, community and technical colleges to waive building fees and activity fees for military service members receiving tuition assistance from the U.S. Department of Defense Tuition Assistance Program. This program provides tuition assistance for service members to pursue a secondary education, but due to a recent change at the federal level, the program no longer covers certain fees. These fees, like the building fees to use a university’s gym, library or computer lab, can be a significant financial setback for service members. Stanford’s bill would allow higher education institutions to waive these fees.

“This is about making sure our service members don’t fall through the cracks,” Stanford said. “We can give more flexibility to our colleges and universities to pick up the slack where the federal program falls short.”

HB 1706 now goes to the senate for consideration.