Alabama Settles Parents’ Lawsuit Over Prepaid-Tuition Plan

Parents who bought contracts in Alabama’s Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program have settled a lawsuit they filed against the state after the program began running out of money, according to the Associated Press. Under the terms of the agreement, approved Wednesday by a state judge, the program will pay state-college tuition at the fall 2010 rate, with students and their families covering anything above that level. Last year the Alabama Legislature agreed to provide $547.6-million to keep the program afloat, but that wasn’t enough to fulfill all its obligations. “You can’t get blood out of a turnip,” a lawyer for the parents said. “This settlement at least got the turnip.”