S. 257 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 257 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 7, 2013 Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to require courses of education provided by public institutions of higher education that are approved for purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition and fees at the in-State tuition rate, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act of 2013. 2. Approval of courses of education provided by public institutions of higher education for purposes of educational assistance programs administered by Secretary of Veterans Affairs conditional on in-State tuition rate for veterans (a) In general Section 3679 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee shall disapprove a course of education provided by a public institution of higher education unless the institution charges tuition and fees for a veteran at the same rate as the institution charges for residents of the State in which the institution is located, regardless of the veteran’s State of residence. (2) The Secretary shall notify the State approving agency of the Secretary’s disapproval of a course of education under this subsection. . (b) Treatment of enrolled benefits recipients (1) In general In the case of a veteran or eligible person who is enrolled before August 1, 2014, in a course of education provided by a public institution of higher education that was approved under chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code, at the time of the initial enrollment of the veteran or eligible person but that is disapproved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Secretary’s designee by reason of subsection (c) of section 3679 of such title, as added by subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall treat such institution as an institution that is approved under such chapter for purposes of the laws administered by the Secretary with respect to the veteran or eligible person until the veteran or eligible person completes the course of education in which the veteran or eligible person is enrolled. (2) Termination (A) Limitation Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not treat an institution of higher education as an approved institution under paragraph (1) after August 1, 2018. (B) Waiver The Secretary may waive the limitation under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines such a waiver is appropriate. (c) Effective date Subsection (c) of section 3679 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to educational assistance provided after August 1, 2014.