Montgomery, AL – A Montgomery County circuit judge has approved a settlement that will allow parents who bought contracts in the state's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program to be paid in the future at the level that was due them in autumn 2010.
Judge Johnny Hardwick approved the settlement Thursday. It will allow students to attend college with much of their tuition paid. But the students will have to pay any increases in tuition since autumn 2010.
The state started PACT more than 20 years ago with parents paying in a fixed amount of money, expecting that after graduating from high school, college tuition would be paid. The program worked well until 2009 when plunging stock prices and rising tuition costs combined to put the program in financial jeopardy.
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