S.F. No. 5102 Summary

• Increases educational assistance stipend for eligible children and spouses from $750 to $1,500 per year, while maintaining a single $750 payment for eligible veterans.

• Expands eligible institutions to include Tribal colleges in addition to public postsecondary institutions and licensed/registered institutions with the Office of Higher Education.

• Removes requirement that veterans exhaust federal educational benefits before receiving assistance, and simplifies proof of eligibility documentation requirements.

• Consolidates and clarifies definitions of eligible beneficiaries to include children, spouses, and surviving spouses of veterans with 70 percent or greater service-connected disability, deceased veterans, and those who served as prisoners of war or were declared missing in action.

• Repeals Minnesota Statutes section 197.752 (Educational Assistance to POW/MIA Dependents) and consolidates those provisions into the main state soldiers assistance program under section 197.75.