Ask any School Certifying Official or administrator involved in Veteran educational benefits how things have progressed over the years, and they are sure to give you an earful. Pre-Post 9/11™ era benefits were a simpler time for school officials in terms of reporting responsibilities, however there was never any doubt that the existing benefit offerings required an overhaul to meet the increasing costs of tuition and fees as well as related living expenses. Fast-forward to today and we are met with a wide-array of benefit options for service-members, veterans and dependents. As these educational benefits have grown, so to have the laws that govern the disbursement of government dollars to institutions and beneficiaries. The VA as well as State Approving Agencies (SAA) that contract with VA to approve educational programs have been tasked as watchdogs for these programs. The influx of school closings and defrauded students have only increased the need to keep a closer eye on how these funds are disbursed and to make sure that the cost of these benefits on taxpayers are being used as intended.
Congress took the most recent (and most extensive) step in recent years to protect VA educational beneficiaries and the benefits they sacrificed for. On January 5th, 2021, President Trump signed the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits improvement Act into law. The law includes sweeping legislative changes in the form of 32 provisions that directly expand oversight and increase reporting requirements for approved educational and training institutions. Below is a synopsis of which provisions have (or will have) a direct impact on said institutions. Please note that some of these provisions have varying effective dates.
A copy of the full text of the new law can be found here.
Section 1005. Requirements for in-State tuition – Removes the requirement for covered individuals to enroll in a course at a public institution of higher learning within three years of being discharged to receive in-state tuition. Also, VA will make publicly available on the VA website a database explaining any public institution’s requirements for beneficiaries to be charged in-state tuition. Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1008. Clarifies eligibility for participation in Yellow Ribbon Program – Updates terminology to provide consistency across other sections of law. Effective January 5, 2021.
Section 1010. Verification of enrollment to receive Post-9/11 Educational Assistance benefits – Creates a dual certification for the receipt of Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits. The school will certify the student’s enrollment after the add-drop date, and then each month thereafter,the student would be required to electronically verify with VA their continued enrollment in that school. If a student fails to certify for two consecutive months, VA will withhold monthly housing allowance payments until the student certifies. Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1012. Expansion of reasons for which a course ofeducation may be disapproved – This section expands the reasons for which a course of education may be disapproved for usage of Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits. A school that is at risk of losing accreditation from their accreditor would no longer be deemed approved under title 38 standards. Effective:August 1, 2021.
Section 1013. Oversight of educational institutions with approved programs: risk-based surveys – This section requires the Secretary of Veteran Affairs to work with State Approving Agencies (SAAs) to develop a comprehensive program to conduct risk-based surveys. Effective: October1, 2022.
Section 1014. Oversight of educational institutions subject to Government action for purposes of educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs – This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide to an SAA any notice from a Federal, State, or accreditation agency of a punitive action that will be taken against an educational institution and requires the SAA to then conduct a risk-based survey and taken additional punitive action against the institution if needed. SAAs would also have to provide notice to VA and other SAAs when they take action against an educational institution. Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1015. Additional requirement for approval of educational institutions for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs – This section requires accredited institutions (even those “deemed approved”) to be eligible for participation in the Federal Student Aid program through Title IV of the Higher Education Act in order to be eligible to receive GI Bill® funds. Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1016. Accreditation for law schools – For a law school to be approved for GI Bill® enrollments, it must be accredited by a specialized accrediting agency for legal programs (i.e. the American Bar Association is the only specialized accrediting agency for legal education currently recognized by the Secretary of Education). Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1017. Grounds for disapproval of a course for purposes of the educational assistance programs – This section allows for a course to be disapproved for GI Bill® enrollments if the institution does not comply with a risk-based survey by an SAA. Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1018. Requirements for educational institutions participating in the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs – This section essentially codifies in statute the requirements of the Principles of Excellence Program, currently in ExecutiveOrder 13607. It also makes compliance with those requirements mandatory for approval of a course of education. Effective: June 15, 2021 and apply to educational institutions beginning on August 1, 2021.
Section 1019. Overpayments to eligible persons or Veterans – This section adds a requirement that schools and training programs be financially responsible, instead of the student, for benefits paid directly to an educational institution pursuant to the Post-9/11 GI Bill® for tuition and fees or the Yellow Ribbon program, and advance payments of initial educational assistance, without consideration of whether the overpayment was the result of the willful or negligent failure of the school. Effective:January 5, 2021.
Section 1020. Improvements to limitation on certain advertising, sales, and enrollment practices – This section provides greater detail on the limitations on the type of advertising, sales, and marketing that schools can undertake and remain eligible for GI Bill® funds. The new standards would align VA with those applicable for the schools participating in the Federal Student Aid program. This section would also create a tiered penalty system for institutions that do not comply with the law and sets up a mechanism for institutions to work with the SAAs and the VA on coming back into compliance. It also places the decision authority with the Under Secretary for Benefits, with an appeal to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. These decision authorities are non-delegable and not subject to appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals. Effective: August 1, 2021.
Section 1022. VA treatment of for-profit educational institutions that convert to nonprofit educational institutions – This is a new requirement for how VA and SAAs treat an institution that converts from a for-profit to a nonprofit educational institution. Institutions are required to receive annual risk-based surveys for a period of three years after converting to a nonprofit institution. Effective: January 5, 2021.
Section 1102. Continuation of educational assistance benefits during COVID-19 – Allows for the continuation of education benefits during the COVID–19 emergency if it’s determined a student was negatively impacted by training being truncated, delayed, relocated, canceled, partially canceled, converted to online training, or otherwise modified or made unavailable. The school must certify to VA that such action has occurred, and VA must determine such action would reduce the amount of benefits payable had the action not occurred. If a negative impact occurs, VA will continue to pay benefits at the rate payable before the action. Authority to continue payments is limited to four weeks but will not count against entitlement if the student did not earn credits for this time. Effective: January 5, 2021.
Section 1107. Inclusion of training establishments in certain provisions related to COVID-19 emergency – This section amends relevant statutes to ensure the COVID-19 protections afforded to students in earlier legislation (PLs 116-128 and 116-140) includes “training establishments” in addition to “educational institutions”. Effective: January 5, 2021.
It should be noted that, as of this writing, the VA is in the process of implementing these changes and guidance on additional requirements for approved institutions will be forthcoming. What we do know is that these changes will affect all educational institutions and proper preparation is key to staying ahead, especially as additional provisions begin to take effect.
