Filner Honored for Protecting Veterans’ Education Benefits

Filner Honored for Protecting Veterans’ Education Benefits

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, Bob Filner, Chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, was honored by the National Association of State Approving Agencies, Inc. (NASAA) for his support of the recent upgrades to the G.I. Bill.  NASAA is comprised of state agencies that have responsibility for the approval of education and training available through the G.I. Bill.  

“I would like to thank NASAA for this special recognition,” said Chairman Filner.  “Last year, Congress successfully passed the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to help pay the full cost of tuition at four-year colleges to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including Reserve and National Guard troops. 

In the same bill, we fought to provide State Approving Agencies adequate and permanent funding in order to meet the growing functions of program approval, supervision, technical assistance, and outreach.  This Committee will continue with its efforts to ensure returning veterans have access to a better education, and with your help, we will do it.” 

The authority of State Approving Agencies (SAA) was established by Congress in 1947 to ensure that veterans and eligible dependents can use the G.I. Bill educational entitlement in an approved educational program.  Under contract with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), the key function of SAAs is to ensure that education and training programs meet VA standards through a range of approval activities, such as conducting on-site visits, evaluating course quality, assessing school financial stability, and monitoring student progress. 

Every state assesses each program as to its own standards and laws in addition to the VA rules and regulations, with all approved programs undergoing continuous supervision.  The programs that can be approved include colleges, universities, vocational and technical schools, flight schools, apprenticeship programs, and other on-the-job training programs.