Military Personnel
“Choice Act”
Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, 38 USC 3679 (c) (the Choice Act), requires that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disapprove and withhold funding under programs of education under the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) and Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) at a public institution of higher learning (IHL) if the institution charges qualifying Veterans and other eligible individuals (“covered individuals”) tuition and fees in excess of the rate charged to resident students. On June 23, 2015, Senate Bill 478 was enacted to conform North Carolina law with the Choice Act, thereby creating North Carolina General Statute § 116-143.3A, which, on July 9, 2015, the VA certified as being compliant with the Choice Act.
N.C.G.S. § 116-143.3A(a)(3) defines “veteran” as a person “who has served active duty for not less than 90 days in the Armed Forces, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and who was discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable.” This definition covers the groups defined in Section 702.
Please contact the Veteran Resource and Information Center at veteran@ecsu.edu or call 252.335.3774 for more information.