Student Veterans Can Receive In-State Tuition Rates At All Public Colleges Beginning Jan. 1, 2016
The G.I. Bill has expanded access for veterans to educational opportunities for the past 70 years on a federal level. But the recent passage of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 by Congress was another landmark legislative achievement for student veterans. The bill:
• Requires public colleges to provide in-state tuition to veterans and eligible dependents in order for the school to remain eligible to receive G.I. Bill education payments.
• Expands the Sgt. Fry Scholarship Program to provide full Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits to spouses of servicemembers who died in the line of duty after 9/11.
• This legislation takes effect for the Jan. 1, 2016.
Update: The legislation was scheduled to take effect July 1, 2015, but VA Secretary Robert McDonald announced on May 14, 2015 that the requirement was being pushed back to give more time for states to fully comply with the requirement by changing any state laws or policies needed. Currently, just 21 states have fully complied. Some of the nation’s most populous states as well as those with large veteran populations were not in compliance, according to the list posted by the VA. Those states included California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Click on the state links below to view state-by-state legislation and additional student veterans benefits.
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Sources: VetsHQ research, Student Veterans of America, American Legion