Reservists Get In-State Tuition Protection: VA to Cut Funding for Colleges Charging Out-of-State Rates Starting August 2026

If you’re a member of the National Guard or Reserves using your education benefits, this bill is about to make your college finances a lot simpler and cheaper. The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025 is essentially closing a loophole that has forced some of our service members to pay out-of-state rates when using their specific military education benefits.

Leveling the Tuition Playing Field

Here’s the deal: Veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) or other major VA education programs already have a protection that forces public colleges to charge them the lower, in-state tuition rate, regardless of where they actually live. If the school doesn't, the VA cuts off funding for that school. This bill extends that exact same protection to those using the Selected Reserve Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 1606) benefits.

Think of it this way: You’re a reservist who lives in Texas but is stationed temporarily in California and decides to attend a public university there using your Chapter 1606 benefits. Without this change, that California school could hit you with the much higher out-of-state tuition bill. This bill mandates that the school must treat you as a California resident for tuition purposes. Specifically, Section 2 requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to disapprove courses at any public institution that fails to charge the in-state rate to these reservists.

What This Means for Your Wallet

This is a massive cost saver. Out-of-state tuition at public universities can often be double or triple the in-state rate. For a reservist juggling drill weekends, deployments, and civilian life, avoiding that financial hit makes a huge difference in whether they can afford to finish their degree. This change standardizes how all major GI Bill benefits are treated, bringing fairness to the system.

For the public institutions themselves, this means they lose the ability to charge those higher rates to this specific group of students. While this is great news for the student, it might mean a slight reduction in revenue for those state schools that currently rely on those out-of-state fees. However, the requirement is clear: comply, or lose VA funding for all Chapter 1606 students.

The Clock Is Ticking

While the bill becomes law immediately upon signing, the actual requirement for schools to implement the change won't take effect until the start of an academic period on or after August 1, 2026. This gives colleges and universities plenty of time to update their enrollment and tuition policies. For any Selected Reserve member planning their education, this date is key—it’s when the financial protection officially kicks in.