New GI Bill Dramatically Changes Education Benefit

New GI Bill dramatically changes education benefit

New GI Bill more than doubles education benefit for some veterans

By DENNIS CAMIRE

WASHINGTON — Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking to use the new GI Bill for school right away may be disappointed to learn that the significantly expanded benefits will not be available for another year.

But the new GI Bill, signed into law this week, offers some immediate tuition relief for veterans while the government sorts out how to administer the most comprehensive changes to veterans education benefits since the original 1944 GI Bill.

The new GI Bill, similar to the World War II program, offers free tuition and fees at public colleges and universities along with a housing allowance and up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies. It more than doubles the education benefit for some veterans based on where they live and go to school. The law also allows career service personnel to transfer the benefit to a spouse or dependent children.

"This is a dramatically new benefit," said Eric Hilleman, deputy director of national legislative service for Veterans of Foreign Wars. "We have not seen such a sweeping change since the World War II benefit,"

The reason for the delay in implementing the new benefit program is to give the Department of Veterans Affairs time to write the regulations, train staff and build the computer software needed to administer the new benefits, said Keith M. Wilson, education service director for the department.

"If I could encourage anybody to do anything, it would be just remain calm," Wilson said. "Don’t go applying for benefits under this program right now because we’re not authorized to pay benefits under it right now."

But if veterans can’t wait a year and go to school under the current GI Bill, they will see their monthly checks increase by 20 percent under the new GI Bill, signed into law Monday by President Bush.

That means veterans attending school after Aug. 1 will receive $1,321 a month, up from $1,101 previously.

"For the first time since World War II, all veterans really have a chance to go to a college of their choice and get it paid for," said Matthew Boulay, an Iraq veteran and executive director of the Campaign for a New GI Bill, who lives in Salem, Ore.

Here’s a look at the GI Bill’s new education benefits.

Question: Who is eligible for the new program?

Answer: It covers all troops, including those in the National Guard and reserve, who have served on active duty for more than 90 days since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Veterans may also receive full benefits if they served at least 30 continuous days on active duty after 9/11 and were discharged because of a disability caused by their service.

Q: How many months of education benefits are provided?

A: The maximum benefit is 36 months of tuition and fees, enough for four academic years of school. But the percentage each veteran receives is linked to the amount of active-duty service.

Those who served three years active duty, or were discharged because of a disability after 30 days, may receive the full 36 months of benefits.

A sliding scale is used to determine the benefit amount for veterans serving less time on active duty.

The minimum amount of active duty is 90 days for which veterans receive 40 percent of the full benefit.

Q. How much assistance is provided?

A: Veterans attending school more than half time would receive up to 100 percent of the tuition and fees charged by their state’s most expensive public university.

The benefit also can be used to help pay tuition and fees at more expensive private schools. If the private school helped the veteran with the difference in tuition cost, the VA could match the amount dollar for dollar.

One big plus for veterans is that the VA pays the tuition and fees directly to the school, said Boulay, who is using the GI Bill to work on a doctoral degree in sociology and education.

"The way (the benefit) is currently paid, students have to go into debt at the beginning of the semester or at least pay out of their own pocket and then they get the benefit month by month during the term they are in school," Boulay said. "This bypasses that. You, as a student, don’t have to dig into your own pocket to get going."

The law also provides a housing allowance based on the amount the Defense Department pays for a sergeant with a family living off base. Wilson said the amount varies among 300 zones across the country but currently averages about $1,250 a month and will be paid to students attending school more than half time in a classroom setting.

A separate stipend of up to $1,000 a year is also provided for books and supplies, he said.

Both the housing allowance and the book stipend are paid directly to the veteran, Wilson said.

Q. How long is a veteran eligible for the benefit?

A: Veterans who qualify for the new GI Bill have up to 15 years from end of their last period of active duty to use the benefit.

Q. What about the $1,200 recruits are now required to pay to qualify for the current GI Bill’s education program when they leave the service?

A: Boulay said that new military personnel are not required to pay anything to be eligible.

"Veterans are eligible for the benefit by virtue of the their service," Boulay said. "They don’t have to opt in or opt out. They get the benefit."

Wilson at the VA said veterans who did not elect to qualify for the current education benefit would be eligible for the new GI Bill program if they meet the active-duty service requirements.

Q. What kind of training does the new GI Bill cover?

A: It will cover education for associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees as well as vocational and technical training and overseas study, according to the VA. But the programs have to be offered by institutions of higher education and approved by the VA.

The new GI Bill also will reimburse veterans up to $1,200 for tutorial assistance and up to $2,000 for licensing and certification tests.

Veterans also may be able to take other types of training such as on-the-job, apprenticeship, correspondence courses, flight school and preparatory courses with the new education benefit.

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