Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 Section 702 of the Choice Act: Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”), requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to disapprove programs of education for payment of benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill® and Montgomery GI Bill®-Active Duty at public institutions of higher learning if the institution charge qualifying Veterans and dependents tuition and fees in excess of the rate for resident students for terms beginning after July 1, 2015. These new requirements will ensure that our Nation’s recently discharged Veterans and their eligible family members will not have to bear the cost of out-of-state charges while using their well-deserved education benefits.
Public institutions of higher education do not have to offer in-state rates to all veterans and dependents to meet the requirements of Section 702. To remain approved for the VA’s GI Bill® programs, the institution must charge in-state tuition and fee amounts to covered individuals. The Choice Act defines a covered individual as:
- A Veteran who lives in the state in which the institution of higher education is located (regardless of his/her formal state of residence) and enrolls in the institution within three years of discharge from a period of active duty service of 90 days or more;
- A spouse or child using transferred benefits who lives in the state in which the institution of higher learning is located (regardless of his/her formal state of residence) and enrolls in the institution within 3 years of the transferor’s discharge from a period of active duty service of 90 days or more; and
- A spouse or child using benefits under the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship who lives in the state in which the institution of higher learning is located (regardless of his/her formal state of residence) and enrolls in the institution within three years of the Service member’s death in the line of duty following a period of active duty service of 90 days or more.
If a student is not a covered individual and needs to establish immediate residency, he/she should see the Office of Enrollment Services.