This bill would reauthorize and change a grant program to help colleges and universities create, maintain, improve, and run Student Veteran Centers. These centers are defined as dedicated campus spaces that offer a lounge, a centralized office for veteran services, trained staff (including veterans and at least one veterans' benefits counselor), tutoring, peer mentoring, and help with benefits, credit transfer, and disability rights information.
The program would let the Secretary of Education award grants to individual institutions or consortia. Grants would be for up to four years and may not exceed $500,000 per award. Applicants must show they enroll a significant number or share of student veterans compared with similar schools and provide a plan to keep the center running after the grant ends. The Secretary would give priority to schools in high-veteran areas, to a mix of sizes and locations, to programs that serve families of veterans, to partnerships with veteran nonprofits or workforce groups, and to centers that hire veterans, offer separate veteran orientation, run retention programs, or provide mental health counseling.
The Secretary must report to Congress within three years after the first grant on how the program was used, who received funds, how many students were served, and whether the program should be continued or expanded. The Department of Education must also create a best-practices website for Student Veteran Centers within three years after the first grant is awarded.
Supporters say student veterans face special challenges returning to school, such as age differences, family duties, time away from academics, and service-related disabilities. The bill cites research that student veterans can feel isolated and that dedicated centers and centralized services are an institutional best practice. Supporters argue the grant program helps colleges give veterans a clear place to get help, connect with peers, and access benefits and counseling.
No publicly available information.