Amended VMI Bill Advances State Funding Threat Struck
A bill proposing a state-led review of the Virginia Military Institute has advanced to the Senate after being significantly amended to remove language that had raised concerns about potential threats to the school’s state funding.
House Bill 1377, introduced by Del. Dan Helmer, DFairfax, passed the House of Delegates last Thursday, Feb. 5, by a 71–24 vote. The engrossed version of the bill — the version that cleared the House — establishes a Virginia Military Institute Advisory Task Force to examine academic programs, military training, governance and institutional culture, including progress made since a 2021 state-commissioned investigation documented concerns about racism, sexism and sexual assault.
Earlier language that would have directed the task force to consider whether VMI should continue operating as a state-supported institution was removed before final passage. References to a 1928 state study that recommended privatizing the institute were also struck.
Following House passage, the bill has been referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. A fiscal impact statement prepared by the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget indicates the task force would be carried out using existing state resources, with no additional funding required.
The amended bill directs the task force to evaluate VMI’s academic rigor and workforce alignment, the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of its military training programs, admissions and diversity trends, and the Institute’s response to findings from the 2021 investigation. The panel would also examine whether additional changes are needed to distance the school from Confederateera symbolism and foster an inclusive environment.
At a House subcommittee hearing earlier this month, media outlets reported VMI Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Furness pushing back on claims that the Institute remains rooted in “Lost Cause” ideology.
“That may have been true of VMI in the past,” Furness said. “It is not now, nor will it be in the future.”
After the House amended the bill, VMI leaders shifted from opposing the proposal to supporting it. In a written statement, Furness thanked lawmakers for removing the funding-related language.
“We are appreciative to the House of Delegates for their bipartisan efforts to amend the bill to remove references threatening VMI’s state funding,” Furness said. “We are confident that an impartial task force will find that VMI is a Virginia treasure that produces citizen-soldiers ready to serve selflessly as military officers or civilian leaders.”
Helmer has described the task force proposal as a measured, fact-finding approach rather than an effort to predetermine the institute’s future. -A second, narrower VMIrelated bill is also advancing through the House with broad support.
House Bill 22, also sponsored by Helmer, would remove a provision in state law that applies only to VMI and change how the Institute handles reports of sexual violence.
Under current law, all public colleges must grant disciplinary immunity to students who report sexual assault if they were drinking, using drugs or violating curfew at the time — a policy designed to encourage victims to come forward without fear of punishment. VMI’s statute includes an additional clause allowing the superintendent to require counseling if a cadet discloses alcohol or drug use while making a report.
HB 22 strikes that exception, placing VMI under the same standard as every other public institution.
The bill has moved quickly through the House. It was unanimously recommended by the Higher Education subcommittee and reported from the full Education Committee on a 21-0 vote. It has since been read twice on the House floor. -A third VMI-related bill, House Bill 1374, has not advanced. Sponsored by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, that measure would eliminate VMI’s independent board of visitors and transfer governance authority to the board of visitors of Virginia State University.
HB 1374 was heard in a House education subcommittee earlier this month, where dozens of alumni, local officials and community members spoke in opposition. No vote was taken, and the bill remains in committee.
Together, the proposals reflect continued scrutiny of VMI following the 2021 investigation and subsequent reform efforts initiated under former superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, whose contract was not renewed last year. -While lawmakers debated the Institute’s future in Richmond, VMI’s student leadership sought to insert another voice into the conversation: their own.
On Feb. 1, representatives of the Corps of Cadets circulated a nine-page memorandum to legislators titled “A Corps Voice,” arguing that much of the public discussion about VMI has relied on secondhand narratives rather than the lived experiences of current students.
“We write neither in anger nor in defiance, but in duty,” the cadets wrote in the opening lines. “This letter exists as the voice of those being forged by the system under review. What follows is not an institutional defense, but a moral account: testimony from cadet leaders who have embraced the system.”
Throughout the memo, cadet leaders reject what they describe as simplified or outdated characterizations of the school’s culture and instead emphasize accountability, shared hardship and meritbased leadership.
“We do not deny imperfection; we deny invisibility,” they wrote.
Devin Auzenne, the Corps’ regimental commander responsible for overseeing more than 1,400 cadets, described his own experience rising through the ranks as evidence that leadership is earned rather than assigned.
“That trust was not granted by identity but earned through performance and accountability,” he wrote. “More importantly, it placed me within a community that has supported me without condition. That community transcends race, creed, and belief because it is bound by shared obligation.”
Other cadets pointed to VMI’s honor system and the demands of the “Ratline,” the school’s rigorous first-year training period, as equalizers.
“The thing about the Ratline is that it does not discriminate,” wrote Maximus Ankrah, president of the class of ‘26. “No matter the race, sex, religion, or superficial traits, the Ratline breaks everyone down.”
In the closing section, cadet leaders urged lawmakers to visit campus and speak directly with students before making structural changes to the institute.
“We ask not for endorsement, but for presence,” they wrote. “VMI is not sustained by myth, nor by denial of its past. It is sustained by the daily labor of cadets who submit themselves to discipline to serve something beyond themselves.”
-The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution Monday in support of VMI and in opposition to HB 1374 and HB 1377 as both bills were originally written when they were introduced.
The resolution states that “the presence of the Virginia Military Institute constitutes a significant historical, cultural, and economic component of Rockbridge County.” It notes that VMI “has educated thousands of graduates who have served the Commonwealth and the United States in military, civic, and professional leadership roles; … ” The resolution asks that members of the General Assembly “consider the historical significance, institutional uniqueness, and local impacts associated with each of these proposals.”
During the citizens comments portion of Monday’s meeting, nine people, several of whom had family members who graduated from or are attending VMI, urged the supervisors to pass the resolution. Dave Sheldon noted that VMI provides an “exceptional education and leadership training.”
Kerrs Creek Supervisor Steve Hart spoke in favor of the resolution, saying “this is personal for me.” He taught at VMI for seven years and, when he served in the military, interacted with numerous alumni who benefited from the education and military training they received. VMI, he added, “is a huge part of the county.”
Hart made a motion to adopt the resolution that was seconded by Bob Day. The motion passed 5-0.
