§3604 Effects of closure of educational institution and modification of courses by reason of emergency situation

Summary

If an emergency causes a school to close, cancels part or all of a course, or forces a course to be changed so it is disapproved, the VA can pay education benefits for the student without taking those payments out of the student’s normal benefit entitlement or counting them toward the time limit under section 3695. This rule applies to programs under chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 of Title 38 and chapter 1606 of Title 10. To get the extra payment, the VA must find the student could not finish the course or program because of the closure, cancellation, or modification, and the student did not get credit or lost training time. “Educational assistance” here includes monthly housing stipends under chapter 33 and payments or subsistence allowances under chapters 30, 31, 32, 35 and chapter 1606. The extra time the VA won’t charge cannot be longer than the lost enrollment time plus any stipend extension under section 3680(a)(2)(B). The VA may treat a course that was disapproved because of an emergency as approved for affected students if that is done across the program and it’s in the student’s best interest. A student who was full‑time when the emergency began and later must go part‑time to finish canceled work will still be treated as full‑time for housing or subsistence pay for those months. The VA must notify enrolled students within five business days after learning of a closure, telling them the closure date and how their benefits are affected.