Noteboom The Law Firm

Private Schools Drawing Large Percentage Of GI Bill Payments

The Post-9/11 GI Bill has only been paying out educational benefits for 2 years. In that time, there have been a litany of problems with the bill payments ranging from failing to make the payments to cutting the amount of money that will be paid to veteran-students, which is common when dealing with veterans compensation benefits. Of all the educational benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays out, a high number of them are going to a very small number of private schools, according to an article on Federal News Radio.

The high number of private, for-profit colleges drawing educational benefits prompted 3 senators to look into the situation. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), Sen. Tom Carper (D-Det.), and Sen Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) discovered 25% of all GI-Bill disbursed funds were going to for-profit colleges operated by only 8 different companies.

Approximately 33% of all GI-Bill disbursed funds go to for-profit, private colleges, but those colleges only enroll approximately 25% of veteran-students. Comparatively, 40% of GI Bill monies go to public universities and colleges, but they enroll 59% of all veteran-students.

The 3 Senators are calling for more oversight into the GI Bill program and how the money is spent. Private schools taking the money isn't necessarily a bad thing, according to Sen. Webb. Rather, the oversight is owed to the taxpayers as well as veterans because of the sheer amount of money being spent in that "sector."

Simply, giving that much money to only 8 companies "doesn't give taxpayers the biggest bang for their buck." It also appears as if many of those schools see veterans as nothing more than "dollar signs in uniforms."

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.