Francis Dorsey, a former Army infantryman who now attends the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) and serves as the vice president of the student veterans organization on campus, continues his passion for "doing everything [he] can" for service members.
After seeing a similar bill in Florida, Dorsey "brought an idea" to his district's Representative Beau Beaullieu (R-Dist. 48) to provide a tuition waiver for disabled veterans at public postsecondary education institutions.
On June 8, Dorsey was "amazed to see" HB 167 signed by Governor John Bel Edwards (D).
With unanimous bipartisan support, the bill became Act 224. As of today, August 1, Louisiana is the only state to offer disabled veterans full exemption from tuition and fees for postsecondary education, regardless of a prospective student's percentage of service-connected disability and regardless of any post-9/11 educational benefit.
Dorsey, who served 11 years in the military, has found that school loan debt can be overwhelming and can put additional stress on a veteran who may already be suffering for various other reasons. But also knowing that education can provide new opportunities for men and women who have served their country, "I think disabled veterans should have some priority," he says.
"Critics might call this nothing more than free school for veterans, but I call it giving a veteran hope," Dorsey submits. "To me, this is how a state can show its patriotic support for those who have suffered or continue to suffer."
In his view, the Louisiana Legislature has made a move that could possibly give a veteran hope and a reason "to not kill himself or herself."
Compared to yearly averages, he points out that Louisiana often has a higher veteran suicide rate than the rest of the nation. That is an issue Dorsey hopes to address in Louisiana's next legislative session.
