Under Chapter 35, Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA or Chapter 35) program, eligible spouses and children of Veterans or service members who have a permanent and total service-connected disability, were missing in action or captured, died on active duty, or died from a service-connected condition receive a stipend while they attend educational programs.

Currently, beneficiaries can use the benefit to attend high school for pre-requisite classes to a college degree.

However, Public Law 117–328 statutorily changed the definition of “educational institution” by deleting “secondary school” and replacing it with “post-secondary school.” This means that using DEA benefits for secondary education, such as high school coursework, GED level training, tutoring or academic remediation is no longer allowed for any program starting on or after Aug. 1, 2026.

Students who start a secondary program prior to Aug. 1, 2026, will continue to receive DEA benefits through the end of the academic term. VA cannot continue DEA benefits for subsequent secondary academic terms even if required for graduation.

VA is contacting beneficiaries and schools who are affected by the change. Beneficiaries who have questions about their benefits may submit inquiries through Ask VA.