Legislation easing graduate school entry for veterans received a failing grade from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Governor vetoed a bill (SB 494) that would have waived Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) requirements for certain service members and veterans.
But DeSantis said the entry exam requirements serve a purpose.
“Standardized tests are a necessary component of a rigorous, merit-based admissions process,” DeSantis wrote in a veto transmittal letter. “While the motivation behind this legislation is laudable, it is not clear that waiving these tests will be beneficial to our institutions or even, in many cases, to the students themselves.”
The waiver would have been available to those who served in the U.S. Army, Florida National Guard or U.S. Reserves actively or who were honorably discharged.
The legislation had been championed in the Senate by Sens. Keith Perry and Jay Collins, both Republicans. It would only have impacted graduate programs at public schools within the State University System or in the Florida College System.
The bill in the legislative process only attracted one “no” vote, from Rep. Randy Fine, a Palm Bay Republican.
Lawmakers who supported the legislation noted many universities across the country already waive the requirements for military applicants. That includes the University of Miami, one of the largest private universities in Florida.
The reasoning is that the skills learned during active service in the military after high school often provide a more reliable indicator of success in graduate level higher education than GRE or GMAT test scores.
The Foundation for Florida’s Future and Miami-Dade County government both had lobbied lawmakers on the bill ahead of its passage. Some veterans advocates had predicted waivers would result in more service members moving to Florida for grad school.
“Waiving these tests is an action streamlining our veterans’ opportunity to compete for admission to our state’s graduate programs,” Billy Francis, director of the Student Veterans Center at Florida State University, told the Tallahassee Democrat earlier this year.
“It’s actions like this that give our ‘thank-you for your service’ comments weight.’ Weaving our veterans back into the fabric of our society is our responsibility and this legislation is an example of that.”
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