New Nevada law provides wounded veterans’ children free higher education

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Nevada joins many states stepping up to help wounded veterans, granting all children of Purple Heart recipients a free college education.

The Legislature passed AB 279 and Governor Joe Lombardo signed the bill. Many states give children of wounded combat veterans similar education benefits, but not all do.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 218,000 service members live in Nevada. The Wounded Warrior Project counts 166,000 wounded service members nationwide, and around 60% of them have a child living at home.

“This is a way for us as a state to specifically support the children of combat-wounded veterans,” said Assemblyman Reuben D’Silva, a veteran and Purple Heart recipient himself. Such veterans often face enduring physical and mental disabilities, and loved ones and their children step up to provide a lifetime of care.

“I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones,” D’Silva said. He recovered from wounds from sniper rounds.

Veterans like Ryan Sanshuck inspired the legislation. The Purple Heart recipient enlisted in the Nevada National Guard in 2004. While stationed in Iraq in 2007, he was wounded by an IED in a roadside bomb. Sanshuck is now father to a young son, Sammy.

“A fighter like his father. I hope he makes the world a better place just like his father did,” Sanshuck said.

The law went into effect on July 1st. There are certain residency requirements: graduation from a Nevada high school, and residency for a veteran’s family. Some children of out-of-state residents may be eligible, as determined by the Nevada Board of Regents.

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