Venkat, Williams: Bipartisan bill to extend Military Family Education benefits signed into law
Rep. Arvind Venkat July 8, 2025 | 9:16 AM
HARRISBURG, July 7– After unanimously passing through the Pennsylvania General Assembly, legislation that would allow family of members of the Pennsylvania National Guard to claim additional education benefits each time the Guard member reenlists or renews their service commitment has been signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro, the bill’s co-prime sponsors, state Reps. Arvind Venkat and Craig Williams, announced.
Act 32 of 2025 (formerly H.B. 865) amends the state’s Military Family Education Program, also known as the Pennsylvania GI Bill, to clarify that the program’s education assistance is a renewable benefit each time a Guard member reenlists or renews their service obligation for an additional six-year term.
“The work of our military members comes with many sacrifices, including some taken on by their families as their loved one leaves to serve,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “Now that it is clear the education benefit is renewable with each enlistment, the Military Family Education Program will now be able to give back an even greater amount to these resilient families while also boosting retention within the Guard.”
“Every reenlistment is a sacrifice. Not just for the service member, but for their entire family,” said Williams, R-Delaware/Chester. “As a Marine Colonel and combat veteran, I know what that continued commitment requires. House Bill 865 reflects our promise to honor their service in a meaningful way.”
The bill also expands the Pennsylvania GI Bill so it can be utilized for a wider range of educational programs, including remedial programs and advanced degrees, and provides for debt forgiveness when a member separates from the Guard for reasons beyond the member’s control after adopting amendments from S.B. 870, similar legislation sponsored by state Sens. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Berks/Montgomery, and Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny.
The Military Family Education Program was signed into law in 2019 and provides 10 semesters of tuition-free education for military spouses and children. The benefit must be used at a Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency-approved educational institution, and at the tuition rate set by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.