The Fostering Independence Through Education Act, a bill that provides a unique opportunity to those who remain in the foster care system after the age of 16, was passed by Gov.Tom Wolf on July 28.

For fostered students, the bill waives tuition and general fees for up to five years of education. These five years do not need to be consecutive, but become unavailable after the age of 26. This new law will be applied to private, public, community and most vocational-technical colleges in Pennsylvania.

Waynesburg University already receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Pennsylvania state government every year, as well as almost $1.8 million from state grants for students this year alone, said Matthew Stokan, director of Financial Aid.

Stokan commented on whether he thought the new bill should be applied to private institutions.

“If the tuition waiver is paid for by the state, I think that’s fine,” he said. “I’ll be interested in the particulars of how we’ll collect that.”

Waynesburg University sits at a cost of about $36,000 a year, including tuition, fees and room and board, Stokan said. Students who were in the foster care system are independents, typically with no expected family income. In addition, they already qualify for the maximum available federal and state grants.

Stokan believes the new bill may discourage good students who were in the foster system from attending colleges that strive to maintain reasonable prices.

“Schools that are reasonably priced are going to miss out on students, because those who were in foster care would get more bang for their buck going to a higher priced school,” he said.

Waynesburg University, with its core Christian values, strives to assist students as well as possible through various programs and scholarships, said Stokan.

“Our goal is to help as many students as possible, especially students who were not blessed in their family,” he said. “We’d be all for helping that student advance.”

The law will go into effect during the fall semester of 2020 and will not cover incurred debt from previous years. The law also does not cover room and board.

The application process for the waiver is not yet known but will be available in January of 2020.

A high school diploma or an equivalent degree is required for eligibility of the tuition waiver. Additionally, ‘satisfactory academic progress’ must be maintained while at college to retain eligibility for the waiver, as well as developing points-of-contact at the university attended to ensure the students’ success.

Various colleges have different tuition prices for in or out-of-state students, but Waynesburg University stands out for their actions to treat all students the same said Stokan. Stokan hopes that this, as well as the University’s desire to help those in need, will keep students choosing Waynesburg University.