Your New & Improved GI Bill
Congress changed the Post-9/11 GI Bill twice in the last year. Here’s what you need to know about the ‘GI Bill 2.0.’
By Dan Fazio

The ink on the Post-9/11 GI Bill had barely dried in June 2008 before discussion began about changing the new education benefits package. Arguably the most comprehensive education benefits ever offered to American veterans, more than 800,000 people have taken advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill since it went into effect on Aug. 1, 2009. Still, some veterans were left out of the original bill.

That changed on Jan. 4, 2011, when President Barack Obama signed revisions to the bill. Dubbed the GI Bill 2.0, the revisions expanded eligibility for tens of thousands of veterans, increased the range of programs funded by the Post-9/11 GI Bill and simplified tuition and fee payments. The first round of changes took effect Aug. 1, 2011, while the second round kicked in on Oct. 1, 2011.

“I think the great thing about these changes is that it brings a lot more training options under the umbrella of this already robust program,” said Keith Wilson, director of Education Service for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “Allowing people to use it for other than getting a degree is a very good thing. I think it also moves us down the road in terms of having a consolidated program under a single GI Bill.”

Here is a summary of the changes in the GI Bill 2.0:

Tuition/fees
The Post-9/11 GI Bill now pays all public school in-state tuition and fees, including graduate studies.

For students attending private or foreign schools, tuition and fees are capped at $17,500 annually. “The Yellow Ribbon Program does still exist, so any additional charges could still be covered under the Yellow Ribbon Program,” Wilson said.

Restoring Fairness Act
However, the change left an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 student veterans who were attending private schools in seven states with unexpected tuition payments, so in July 2011 Congress passed the Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act of 2011, which grandfathers students in those states: Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.

“So the practical impact of this legislation is that for students who were enrolled at private schools in those states on Jan. 3 of this year and who are being charged more than $17,500 a year, we can continue to pay them the higher rate that they were previously receiving,” Wilson said.

Students paying out-of-state tuition, however, are not grandfathered.

Housing Allowance
Previously, any student enrolled at least half time received a full housing allowance equivalent to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) of an E-5 with dependents in the same ZIP code as the school.

The housing allowance is now prorated, so only full-time students get the full BAH. The BAH is based on the students’ percentage of training time, rounded up to the nearest tenth.

“In other words, if somebody is at 74 percent training time, based on the number of credit hours at their school, compared to the number of credit hours it takes to be full time, they will receive 80 percent.”

Break pay
Previously the housing allowance was paid during short periods (30 days or less) between enrollments – over the Christmas holidays, for example.

The allowance will no longer be paid when school is not in session. While student veterans will have to budget accordingly, the advantage is that they won’t be using their 36 month entitlement when they’re not in class.

License/certification fees
The VA will now reimburse veterans for multiple license and certification tests, whereas previously only one would be funded under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

National exams
The VA will now reimburse veterans for taking national exams, such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT or LSAT.

Voc Rehab
Veterans in the Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Program who are eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill can receive housing allowance under that program.

Vocational schools
Student veterans can now use the Post-9/11 GI Bill to pay for on-the-job training, apprenticeships, flight training, correspondence courses and other non-degree programs.

BAH for Distance learners Previously ineligible for a housing allowance, students enrolled solely in distance learning (including online education) are now eligible for half of the national average housing allowance for an E-5 with dependents, which is $673.50 per month for 2011.

Book stipend
Active duty students are now eligible for the $1,000 annual book and supply stipend. Previously only student veterans were eligible.

Title 32
National Guard members mobilized on Title 32 orders on or after Sept. 11, 2001, are now eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

Wilson said the VA’s electronic claims processing system was updated June 1 to accommodate the changes. However, the VA did not have time to tweak the system to accommodate the Restoring Fairness Act, so those students may see some delays in processing this fall. Overall, though, Wilson applauded the changes.

“Anything that we can do to expand training options and anything we can do to make the benefit more understandable and, by extension, easier to use for our potential students has got to be a good thing,” he said.

130,000
# of students enrolled for fall 2011 under the Post-9/11 GI Bill

2,600
# of schools participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program for 2011-2012