Veterans & Service Members

AACRAO recognizes and honors the sacrifices these men and women have made and its members are proud to assist them and meet their educational needs. Veterans and students on active military duty and their families face special circumstances and challenges.

Changes in federal statute and executive actions have greatly promoted the expansion of services toward veterans and their families. Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was passed in 2009, close to 1 million veterans, service members, and eligible dependents have taken advantage of the educational benefits available to them. With the passage of more recent legislation, such as the Forever GI Bill in 2017 and the Isakson Roe and THRIVE Acts in 2021, there will be significant changes to military education benefits over the coming years.

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Latest Actions

AACRAO recently hosted a webinar to discuss the implementation of veteran legislation passed in December 2020, also known as the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act. This law will have a transformative effect on the mission of Education Service to provide ready access to, and timely and accurate delivery of, education benefits to Veterans, Service members, and their families, as well as further enable the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to empower GI Bill beneficiaries to achieve their vocational and career goals.

Other recent legislation introduced in both the House and Senate include important provisions to help ensure veterans can continue to receive their education benefits as well as technical corrections to the legislation passed last year.

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Dept. of Veterans Affairs Seeks Exemption from State Authorization Rule

May 1, 2014, 15:51 PM
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Last week, the U.S. Education Department concluded its third rulemaking session on new program integrity and improvement regulations. During a public comment period at the meeting, officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) raised concerns about the proposed state authorization rule – which would require programs to seek approval from every state where they enroll students in distance education – The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.

Debbie L. Hettler, a clinical director in the VA's office of academic affiliations, asked Education Department officials to exempt federal facilities from the rule. Reading from a letter signed by the VA's acting chief officer for academic affiliations, Hettler warned that "the costs of multiple state registrations for academic institutions will prohibit programs from participating in training at VA facilities and other national federal agencies." She said her office was already aware of two academic programs that have barred their students from participating in out-of-state VA training programs as a result of the draft rule.

An Education Department official said the VA's request had come as a surprise. The official said the department would work with the VA to resolve its concerns.

 

Related Links

The Chronicle of Higher Education

http://chronicle.com/article/Veterans-Affairs-Dept-Seeks/146285

Michelle Mott
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  • Veterans and Service Members
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