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Student Veterans Transparency and Protection Act of 2023
3/13/2024, 4:39 PM
Summary of Bill S 1309
One key provision of the bill is the requirement for colleges and universities to provide more detailed information to student veterans about the cost of attendance, graduation rates, and job placement rates for veterans. This information will help veterans make more informed decisions about where to use their GI Bill benefits.
Another important aspect of the bill is the establishment of a new oversight office within the Department of Veterans Affairs to monitor and enforce compliance with the new transparency requirements. This office will also be responsible for investigating complaints from student veterans about colleges and universities that may be taking advantage of them. Overall, the Student Veterans Transparency and Protection Act of 2023 aims to ensure that student veterans are able to make the most of their GI Bill benefits and receive a quality education without being taken advantage of by unscrupulous institutions. It is currently being debated in Congress and may be voted on in the near future.
Congressional Summary of S 1309
Student Veterans Transparency and Protection Act of 2023
This bill addresses the maintenance of the GI Bill Comparison Tool and administration of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational assistance.
The VA must maintain the tool and ensure its historical data remains easily and prominently accessible on the VA's benefits website for at least seven years from the initial publication.
The VA must retain, maintain, and publish feedback from students and state approving agencies regarding the quality of instruction, recruiting practices, and post-graduation employment placement of approved institutions of higher learning for the duration that the institution is approved for VA benefit purposes.
The bill provides institutions of higher learning with up to 90 days to review and respond to any feedback and address issues before the feedback is published.
The bill requires that the GI Bill Comparison Tool include updated information, including descriptions of each federal student aid program.
The VA must train personnel that provide education benefits counseling, vocational or transition assistance, or similar functions to properly use the comparison tool and provide appropriate education counseling services.
The VA must restore entitlement to educational assistance in situations where there is a civil enforcement action or VA action against an educational institution, and an individual was unable to complete the course or program of education due to such action.
