Friday, September 28, 2007

Rep. Yonts Incentivizing Crime-Free Students

Rep. Brent Yonts pre-filed a bill yesterday that is worthy of discussion. The bill offers a financial incentive for high school and college to avoid illegal use of drugs and alcohol and other various forms of illegal activity. It also provides some tax deductibility for college tuition costs.

Unfortunately, a discrepancy between the actual bill and the Legislative Research Commission's description of the bill may cause some confusion.

The bill refers to assistance with tuition expenses, but the bill description claims the program will provide scholarships for "up to 100 percent of the total cost of education." This is not correct.

Anyone who has financed a college education knows "tuition" is only a fraction of the "total cost of education," which includes room and board, transportation, books, fees, and -- more frequently these days -- purchase of a computer.