This bill preserves the entitlement to education benefits under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program for veterans who discontinue their program of education during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.
Specifically, the bill prohibits an educational assistance payment from being (1) charged against an individual's entitlement to educational assistance, or (2) counted against the aggregate period of such assistance (in most cases 48 months). An educational assistance payment is a payment to an individual for the pursuit of a course, if the individual discontinued the course due to COVID-19 and either failed to receive credit or lost training time toward completion of the program of education.
Further, the bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue paying subsistence allowances (monthly housing stipends) for a specified amount of time following the discontinuation of courses.
It also preserves the entitlement to tutorial assistance and assistance for relocation or travel.