AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the next few weeks, students will head back to school. That will include tens of thousands of veterans taking advantage of education benefits they earned from serving in the military.
According to the Texas Veterans Commission, or TVC, recent reports show that more veterans utilize their VA education benefits in Texas than in any other state in the nation. The TVC is the organization that assists veterans with using education benefits.
The TVC said Texas currently has 79,525 veterans and their dependents using their educational benefits, citing numbers recently released by the VA in its Benefits for Veterans Education report.
The nearly 80,000 Texans account for over half the national total of 156,530 people using the G.I. Bill.
According to the TVC, Texas also leads in the number of beneficiaries using Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA). DEA is granted to “dependents or surviving spouses of veterans who either died, were captured or missing, or have been determined to be permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected causes,” according to the TVC.
Of the 79,525 Texans using veteran education benefits, 29,710 are DEA.
“Education is essential to a better future and stronger workforce. I’m proud that TVC Veterans Education has helped tens of thousands of students to use the benefits they earned,” Tom Palladino, TVC Executive Director and Army veteran, said in a press release. “The fact that Texas also leads the nation in veteran Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance shows the synergy within TVC. Our Claims Department works tirelessly on veteran disability ratings and compensation, and that veteran’s disability rating can impact eligibility for a dependent’s education benefits.”
Locally, Austin Community College has a Veterans Resource Center dedicated to supporting veterans, active duty, and military family community members.
ACC was recognized by Gov. Greg Abbott’s office last year for its program. ACC was one of 21 colleges in Texas that received a Veteran Education Excellence Recognition Gold Award in 2024.
Bethann Warwick, manager of the Veterans Resource Center at ACC, said the college’s program connects with military individuals from the beginning of their time at the college and stays connected with them all the way through helping them find jobs after they finish school.
Some other things ACC offers through that program that Warwick mentioned were its transition guide program for first-time ACC students, which helps transition them out of the military and into the community, and events and activities that help connect them with the community.
Texas has the largest veteran population of any state, at over 1,543,160, per the TVC. It also has the highest number of disability compensation claims filed: more than 300,000 since August 2022.
Veterans in Texas can find assistance in filing for and receiving their benefits at no cost from the TVC on its website. Those seeking assistance with education benefits should contact the TVC Veterans Education Department.
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