A House panel Tuesday gave initial backing to a measure that seeks to ease the transition into higher education for students in the military and dependents of military members, as a similar Senate bill continued advancing.

The House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee unanimously approved the House bill (HB 845).

The measure would require the State Board of Education and the state university system’s Board of Governors, which combine to oversee Florida’s colleges and universities, to establish the “Collegiate Purple Star Campuses” program.

Schools that participate would provide priority course registration for students who are members of the military or are dependents of current or former military members.

Participating colleges and universities also would have to designate a staff member as a “military liaison” and maintain a “student-led transition program that assists military students in transitioning” to the schools.

“The more we can support these families and family members who have given so much to this country we love so dearly, the better off we’ll all be,” Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, a Parkland Democrat who is helping sponsor the bill, said.

The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee unanimously approved a similar bill (SB 732).