Title 38 — Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-73not60

§3602 Continuation of Educational Assistance Benefits During Emergency Situations

Title 38 › Part III— READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS › Chapter 36— ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS › Subchapter I— EMERGENCY SITUATIONS › § 3602

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary can keep giving a student their education benefits if an emergency hurt the student’s program. The Secretary may treat the student as if the emergency never happened and continue benefits. This extra help is in addition to other emergency powers, but the total extra weeks of educational assistance allowed under this and other emergency rules cannot be more than four weeks. The Secretary may keep paying a monthly housing stipend and other payments or subsistence allowances under chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 of Title 38 and chapter 1606 of Title 10 for the months the student would have been in school, but those continued payments also cannot exceed four weeks in total. A student is "negatively affected" if they were using VA education benefits and (1) they were enrolled in a covered program or training, (2) the school or training provider says the program was shortened, delayed, moved, canceled, changed to distance learning, or otherwise made unavailable because of the emergency, and (3) the Secretary decides that the change would cut the amount of benefits the student would have gotten. If the student got help under this rule but did not make progress toward finishing their program during that time, the assistance given under this rule will not count against the student’s total benefit entitlement under the listed chapters.

Full Legal Text

Title 38, §3602

Veterans' Benefits — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)If the Secretary determines under subsection (c) that an individual is negatively affected by an emergency situation, the Secretary may provide educational assistance to that individual under the laws administered by the Secretary as if such negative effects did not occur.

(2)The authority under this section is in addition to the other authorities of the Secretary to provide benefits in emergency situations, but in no case may the Secretary provide more than a total of four weeks of additional educational assistance by reason of any other such authority and this section.

(b)In providing educational assistance to an individual pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary may—

(1)continue to pay a monthly housing stipend under chapter 33 of this title, during a month the individual would have been enrolled in a program of education or training but for the emergency situation at the same rate such stipend would have been payable if the individual had not been negatively affected by the emergency situation, except that the total number of weeks for which stipends may continue to be so payable may not exceed four weeks; and

(2)continue to pay payments or subsistence allowances under chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 of this title and chapter 1606 of title 10 during a month for a period of time that the individual would have been enrolled in a program of education or training but for the emergency situation, except that the total number of weeks for which payments or allowances may continue to be so payable may not exceed four weeks.

(c)The Secretary shall determine that an individual was negatively affected by an emergency situation if—

(1)the individual is enrolled in a covered program of education of an educational institution or enrolled in training at a training establishment and is pursuing such program or training using educational assistance under the laws administered by the Secretary;

(2)the educational institution or training establishment certifies to the Secretary that such program or training is truncated, delayed, relocated, canceled, partially canceled, converted from being on-site to being offered by distance learning, or otherwise modified or made unavailable by reason of the emergency situation; and

(3)the Secretary determines that the modification to such program or training specified under paragraph (2) would reduce the amount of educational assistance (including with respect to monthly housing stipends, payments, or subsistence allowances) that would be payable to the individual but for the emergency situation.

(d)If the Secretary determines that an individual who received assistance under this section did not make progress toward the completion of the program of education in which the individual is enrolled during the period for which the individual received such assistance, any assistance provided pursuant to this section shall not be counted for purposes of determining the total amount of an individual’s entitlement to educational assistance, housing stipends, or payments or subsistence allowances under chapters 30, 31, 32, and 35 of this title and chapter 1606 of title 10.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

38 U.S.C. § 3602

Title 38 — Veterans' Benefits

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60