HB487ENGROSSED
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HB487
JPZ9GFY-2
By Representatives Moore (P), Brown, Paschal, Robertson,
Oliver, Starnes
RFD: Ways and Means Education
First Read: 01-Apr-25
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First Read: 01-Apr-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Related to the Alabama G.I. Dependent Scholarship
Program; to amend Sections 31-6-4 and 31-6-6, as last amended
by Act 2024-399 of the 2024 Regular Session and Section
31-6-9, Code of Alabama 1975; to reduce the minimum disability
rating required for participation in the program; and to add
Section 31-6-11.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to establish a
pilot program to admit additional dependents of certain
disabled veterans into the scholarship program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 31-6-4 and 31-6-6, as last amended
by Act 2024-399 of the 2024 Regular Session, and Section
31-6-9, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§31-6-4
(a)(1) Any child whose father or mother meets any of
the following criteria may attend any qualifying school for a
period of five standard academic years, not to exceed 45
months or the equivalent of 45 months if enrolled part-time,
pursuant to the tuition reimbursement guidelines as provided
in subsection (c):
a. Was killed or died in line of duty or is listed as
missing in action or is or was a prisoner of war or whose
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missing in action or is or was a prisoner of war or whose
death or permanent total disabilities were service-connected
while serving as a member of the armed forcesArmed Forces;.
b. Died from a disability incurred from military
service, as established by the State Department of
Veterans'Veterans Affairs, after having been discharged under
conditions other than dishonorable and after having served at
least 90 days consecutively in the armed forcesArmed Forces
prior to and/or subsequent to the date on which the disability
occurred, or who was honorably discharged by reason of a
qualifying service-connected disability after serving less
than 90 days;.
c. Was killed or died while on state active duty status
as defined in Section 31-12-1, or whose death results
proximately and within three years from an injury received
while on state active duty status ; or.
d. Has been assigned 100 percent permanent or total
disability rated by the United States Veterans' Administration
Department fo Veterans Affairs , or was discharged or retired
from the armed forcesArmed Forces with a 4030 percent or more
disability and maintained that percentage.
(2) Training under this section must be initiated prior
to the child's thirtieth birthday, and must be completed
within eight years after its initiation, except for delays
caused by military service during the training period, and in
no case may training be received under this chapter beyond the
thirty-eighth birthday of the child.
(b) The educational benefits provided by this section
to children making application for benefits for the first time
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to children making application for benefits for the first time
beginning with the fall term of the 2014-2015 academic year,
and thereafter, shall be limited to undergraduate courses of
study only, and the value of tuition paid shall be limited to
the in-state tuition rate of the qualifying school attended.
(c) For those first filing for benefits under this
chapter on or after July 31, 2017, and for those attending a
qualifying private school, the educational benefit shall be
for tuition reimbursement and books and fees reimbursement.
The value of tuition paid per semester hour (or equivalent),
or equivalent, shall be limited to four hundred dollars
($400). The value of the books and fees paid per semester
shall be limited to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per student.
(d) For the purpose of the minimum disability
requirement provided for in subdivision (a)(4), the dependent
of any veteran whose disability rating as of July 31, 2017, is
at least 20 percent but less than 40 percent shall qualify for
the benefits of this chapter, provided that the dependent
shall file application for the benefits before July 31, 2023,
and the dependent is reasonably expected to be eligible to
attend a qualifying school in the next academic year. "
"§31-6-6
(a) The spouse and children of any veteran who is
suffering from 4030 to 90 percent service-connected disability
brought about from service in the Armed Forces of the United
States, or the widow and children of a deceased veteran who
was suffering from 4030 percent or more of service-connected
disability at the time of death, as established by the State
Department of Veterans'Veterans Affairs, shall be entitled to
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Department of Veterans'Veterans Affairs, shall be entitled to
the following educational advantages and opportunities:
(1) The spouse or widow shall be entitled to up to 27
months of schooling, or the equivalent of 27 months if
enrolled part-time, in any qualifying school, pursuant to the
tuition reimbursement guidelines as provided in subsection
(d)(c). One change of program shall be allowed without
counseling. All training received at qualifying schools under
this subdivision must be completed within a period of six
years after its initiation.
(2) Each child of a disabled veteran shall be entitled
to five standard academic years, or the equivalent of 45
months if enrolled part-time, in any qualifying school
pursuant to the tuition reimbursement guidelines as provided
in subsection (d)(c). One change of program shall be allowed
without counseling. Training under this subdivision must be
initiated prior to the child's twenty-sixth birthday, and must
be completed within eight years after its initiation, except
for delays caused by military service during the training
period, and in no case may training be received under this
section beyond the thirty-fourth birthday of the child.
(b) For the purpose of the minimum disability
requirement provided for in subsection (a), the dependent of
any veteran whose disability rating as of July 31, 2017, is at
least 20 percent but less than 40 percent shall qualify for
the benefits of this chapter, provided that the dependent
shall file application for benefits before July 31, 2023, and
the dependent is reasonably expected to be eligible to attend
a qualifying school in the next academic year.
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a qualifying school in the next academic year.
(c)(b) The educational benefits provided by this
section to spouses, children, and widows making application
for benefits for the first time beginning with the fall term
of the 2014-2015 academic year, and thereafter, shall be
limited to undergraduate courses of study only, and the value
of tuition paid shall be limited to the in-state tuition rate
of the qualifying school attended.
(d)(c) For those first filing for benefits under this
chapter on or after July 31, 2017, and for those attending a
qualifying private school, the educational benefit shall be
for tuition reimbursement and books and fees reimbursement.
The value of tuition paid per semester hour (or equivalent),
or equivalent, shall be limited to four hundred dollars
($400). The value of the books and fees paid per semester
shall be limited to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per
student."
"§31-6-9
(a) For those dependents who first file for benefits
under this chapter prior to July 31, 2017, the benefits
provided under this chapter shall be in addition to any other
state or federal benefits to which that dependent may be
entitled.
(b) For dependents who first file for benefits under
this chapter on or after July 31, 2017, and for those
attending a qualifying private school:
(1) To the extent permitted by law, prior to applying
any benefits provided for under this chapter, institutional
certifying officials and financial aid officials shall first
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certifying officials and financial aid officials shall first
apply other federal, state, institutional, and third
partythird-party scholarships and grants awarded to the
dependent for that academic period for payment of required
educational expenses during an academic period .;
(2) A completed Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA), or the equivalent, must be submitted to the
United States Department of Education for each year in which
the dependent receives benefits under this chapter. The
dependent shall have applied for all federal student financial
aid grants, including, but not limited to, Pell Grants,
Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, and Education and
Training Vouchers, identified as being available for the
student's application by Federal Student Aid, an office of the
United States Department of Education, or its successor
agency.;
(3) All students receiving educational benefits under
this chapter and the qualifying schools they attend must
comply with the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress
(SAP) as required for Title IV benefits under the Higher
Education Act and as defined by that qualifying school. Those
students who would no longer be eligible to receive Title IV
benefits due to a failure to meet SAP standards shall no
longer be eligible to receive benefits under this chapter.
Each qualifying school shall notify the State Department of
Veterans'Veterans Affairs of any student who currently holds a
certificate of eligibility for benefits under this chapter who
is no longer eligible to receive benefits due to a failure to
meet SAP standards and the effective date of that change in
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meet SAP standards and the effective date of that change in
eligibility.; and
(4) The dependent shall ensure that all qualifying
schools he or she attends under this program are authorized to
release the personally identifiable information to the State
Department of Veterans'Veterans Affairs as is required for the
determination of that dependent's continued eligibility and as
required for the completion of all reports required by law.
(c) Any dependent who receives benefits under this
chapter, and whose benefit period is interrupted due to
accident, injury, or illness, shall have the benefit time
period which is lost due to the accident, illness, or injury
restored to him or her.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter
to the contrary, dependents of any veteran whose disability
rating, if any, prior to May 23, 2017, was less than 20
percent, but who had a claim for compensation pending prior to
that date which resulted in a final award by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs of at least 20 percent, shall
be eligible for education benefits as the chapter read prior
to May 23, 2017, if the dependent files an application for
benefits under this chapter within six months of that final
adjudication and provides proof satisfactory to the State
Department of Veterans'Veterans Affairs that he or she
qualifies under this exception and currently satisfies the
eligibility requirements as the chapter read prior to May 23,
2017."
Section 2. Section 31-6-11.1 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
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Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§31-6-11.1
(a) Notwithstanding provisions of Section 31-6-11, Code
of Alabama 1975, to the contrary, beginning on January 1,
2026, dependents who would be eligible to receive benefits
under this chapter but for their inability to show the
qualifying veteran was a permanent resident of the State of
Alabama for at least one year immediately prior to his or her
entrance into service may be eligible to receive educational
benefits under this chapter where they can show the qualifying
veteran:
(1) Has, or had at the time of his or her death, a
minimum disability rating of 50 percent; and
(2) Has been a permanent resident of this state for at
least five years immediately prior to the filing of the
application for benefits under this section or immediately
prior to his or her death if the veteran is deceased.
(b) The educational benefits provided by this section
shall be provided to not more than 100 dependents annually.
Priority of dependents accepted shall be based on the highest
disability rating of the qualifying veterans.
(c) The benefits provided by this section shall be the
same as benefits provided for dependents as described in
Chapter 6, Title 31, Code of Alabama 1975.
(d) The educational benefits authorized pursuant to
this section shall expire on December 31, 2027, unless
extended by an act of the Legislature.
Section 3. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2025.
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2025.
House of Representatives
Read for the first time and referred
to the House of Representatives
committee on Ways and Means
Education
................01-Apr-25
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
2 amendments
................17-Apr-25
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 103
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................22-Apr-25
John Treadwell
Clerk
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