For more than 80 years, veterans in Texas have received a free education through the Hazlewood Act. The state’s university systems bear the brunt of the costs, which have escalated since the program expanded five years ago to allow veterans to transfer unused credit hours to their children. While the program is well regarded, there have been disputes connected to how it is applied.

With its rising costs, the program could face fiscal peril if the 84th Legislature does not look at changes. This is the fifth video in our eight-part State of Mind series.


The Texas State University System and the Texas Veterans Commission are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. Raymund Paredes is a donor to the Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

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Alana Rocha was the director of news partnerships for The Texas Tribune until June 2022. She was previously a multimedia reporter, after working in television and radio news for eight years. Alana covered...

Justin Dehn was a multimedia producer, focusing on video and audio production, from 2010 to 2023. He’s been shooting and producing news for more than two decades. Justin has been behind the camera for...