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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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.

UPDATES

Trump Signs GI Bill Update Into Law

Aug 17, 2017, 17:51 PM
legacy id : 5995935a4c15640ca833590e
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President Trump on Wednesday signed an update of the Post-9/11 GI Bill into law, The Washington Post reported. The bipartisan legislation moved swiftly through both chambers of Congress in the last month.

The Forever GI Act removes the current 15-year limit for veterans to use their GI Bill benefits for postsecondary education, effective immediately. The measure increases financial assistance for National Guard and Reserve members, building on a 2008 law that guaranteed veterans a full-ride scholarship to any in-state, public university, or a similar cash amount to attend private colleges. It also grants full eligibility for GI Bill benefits to Purple Heart recipients, regardless of their length of service.

Additionally, the legislative package restores benefits used to earn credits at closed institutions such as those operated by Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech, which enrolled a large number of veterans as students.

"This is expanding our ability to support our veterans in getting education," Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin told reporters at a briefing.

 

Related Links

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/higher-education/trump-signs-bill-expanding-college-assistance-for-veterans/2017/08/16/11c24232-82ec-11e7-9e7a-20fa8d7a0db6_story.html

Michelle Mott
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  • Veterans and Service Members
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