Veteran Education Empowerment Act

Summary: Veteran Education Empowerment Act Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award up to 30 four-year grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs to establish, maintain, and improve Veteran Student Centers. Permits a grantee to use a portion of the grant to provide veteran students with supportive instruction services. Requires a grantee to be an IHE or consortium that: (1) enrolls in undergraduate or graduate courses a significant number or percentage of veterans or members of the Armed Forces, and (2) presents a sustainability plan demonstrating that its Veteran Student Center will be maintained and will continue to operate after the grant ends. Defines a &quot;Veteran Student Center&quot; as a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, and veterans in the community; (2) a centralized office for veteran services that is staffed by trained employees and volunteers and serves as a single point of contact to coordinate veterans support services; and (3) comprehensive academic and tutoring services to veterans. Requires that office to provide such students with assistance in:  transitioning from the military to student life, transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce,  networking with other veteran students and veterans in the community,  understanding and obtaining benefits provided by the IHE and federal and state government for which they may be eligible,  understanding how to succeed in the IHE, and understanding their disability-related rights and protections under specified federal laws.  Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a website for veteran student services at IHEs, which details best practices for serving veteran students at IHEs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Education Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over 1,000,000 veterans attended institutions of higher 
        education in 2014.
            (2) Veterans face unique challenges in transitioning from 
        the battlefield to the classroom and eventually to the 
        workforce, often including: age differences, family 
        obligations, significant time away from academic life, and 
        service-related disabilities.
            (3) The National Endowment for the Humanities' Warrior-
        Scholar Project found that ``veterans transitioning to college 
        likely have not used academic skills since high school and have 
        difficulty adjusting to a fundamentally different social and 
        cultural environment, [leading] to veterans dropping out of 
        college before earning their degree''.
            (4) The National Education Association found that veteran 
        students can feel lonely and vulnerable on campus and that 
        ``connecting student veterans can effectively ease this 
        isolation'' by bringing together new veteran students with 
        those who have already successfully navigated the first few 
        semesters of college.
            (5) The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans far 
        outpaces both the overall non-veteran unemployment rate and the 
        unemployment rate for non-veterans entering the workforce for 
        the first time.
            (6) According to Mission United--a United Way program that 
        helps veterans re-acclimate to civilian life--it is often 
        ``essential'' for veteran students to be mentored by ``another 
        veteran who understands their mindset and experience''.
            (7) Veteran Student Centers are recognized as an 
        institutional best practice by Student Veterans of America.
            (8) The American Council on Education, which represents 
        more than 1,700 institutions of higher education across the 
        country, has called having a dedicated space for veterans on 
        campus ``a promising way for colleges and universities to 
        better serve veterans on campus'' and a ``critical'' component 
        of many colleges' efforts to serve their veteran students.
            (9) The Department of Education included as one of its 8 
        Keys to Veterans' Success that colleges and universities should 
        ``coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, 
        together with the creation of a designated space for them''.
            (10) Budget constraints often make it difficult or 
        impossible for institutions of higher education to dedicate 
        space to veteran offices, lounges, or student centers.
            (11) The 110th Congress authorized the funding of Veteran 
        Student Centers through the Centers of Excellence for Veteran 
        Student Success under part T of title VIII of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161t). Congress also chose to 
        appropriate funding for this program for fiscal year 2015 under 
        the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 
        2015 (Public Law 113-235).
            (12) According to the Department of Education, federally 
        funded Veteran Student Centers and staff have generated 
        improved recruitment, retention, and graduation rates, have 
        helped veteran students feel better connected across campus, 
        and have directly contributed to student veterans' successful 
        academic outcomes.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, AND IMPROVE VETERAN 
              STUDENT CENTERS.

    Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by 
striking part T (20 U.S.C. 1161t) and inserting the following:

              ``PART T--GRANTS FOR VETERAN STUDENT CENTERS

``SEC. 873. GRANTS FOR VETERAN STUDENT CENTERS.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations under subsection (i), the Secretary shall award grants 
to institutions of higher education or consortia of institutions of 
higher education to assist in the establishment, maintenance, 
improvement, and operation of Veteran Student Centers. The Secretary 
shall award not more than 30 grants under this subsection.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--
            ``(1) Application.--An institution or consortium seeking a 
        grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary an 
        application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Criteria.--The Secretary may award a grant under 
        subsection (a) to an institution or a consortium if the 
        institution or consortium meets each of the following criteria:
                    ``(A) The institution or consortium enrolls in 
                undergraduate or graduate courses--
                            ``(i) a significant number of veteran 
                        students, members of the Armed Forces serving 
                        on active duty, and members of a reserve 
                        component of the Armed Forces; or
                            ``(ii) a significant percentage of veteran 
                        students,
        as measured by comparing the overall enrollment of the 
        institution or consortium to the number, for the most recent 
        academic year for which data are available, of veteran 
        students, members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty, 
        and members of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who are 
        enrolled in undergraduate or graduate courses at the 
        institution or consortium.
                    ``(B) The institution or consortium presents a 
                sustainability plan to demonstrate that its Veteran 
                Student Center will be maintained and will continue to 
                operate after the grant period of the grant received 
                under subsection (a) has ended.
            ``(3) Additional criteria.--In awarding grants under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall consider institutions or consortia 
                representing a broad spectrum of sectors and sizes, 
                including institutions or consortia from urban, 
                suburban, and rural regions of the United States; and
                    ``(B) may provide consideration to institutions or 
                consortia that meet one or more of the following 
                criteria:
                            ``(i) The institution or consortium is 
                        located in a region or community that has a 
                        significant population of veterans.
                            ``(ii) The institution or consortium 
                        carries out programs or activities that assist 
                        veterans in the local community and the spouses 
                        of veteran students.
                            ``(iii) The institution or consortium 
                        partners in its veteran-specific programming 
                        with non-profit veteran service organizations, 
                        local workforce development organizations, or 
                        institutions of higher education.
                            ``(iv) The institution or consortium 
                        commits to hiring a staff at the Veteran 
                        Student Center that includes veterans 
                        (including veteran student volunteers and 
                        veteran students participating in a Federal 
                        work-study program under part C of title IV, a 
                        work-study program administered by the 
                        Secretary of Veteran Affairs, or a State work-
                        study program).
                            ``(v) The institution or consortium commits 
                        to using a portion of the grant received under 
                        this section to develop an early-warning 
                        veteran student retention program carried out 
                        by the Veteran Student Center.
                            ``(vi) The institution or consortium 
                        commits to providing mental health counseling 
                        to its veteran students and their spouses.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--An institution or consortium that is 
        awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall use such grant to 
        establish, maintain, improve, or operate a Veteran Student 
        Center.
            ``(2) Other allowable uses.--An institution or consortium 
        receiving a grant under subsection (a) may use a portion of 
        such funds to carry out supportive instruction services for 
        student veterans, including--
                    ``(A) assistance with special admissions and 
                transfer of credit from previous postsecondary 
                education or experience; and
                    ``(B) any other support services the institution or 
                consortium determines to be necessary to ensure the 
                success of veterans on campus in achieving education 
                and career goals.
    ``(d) Amounts Awarded.--
            ``(1) Duration.--Each grant awarded under subsection (a) 
        shall be for a 4-year period.
            ``(2) Total amount of grant and schedule.--Each grant 
        awarded under subsection (a) may not exceed a total of 
        $500,000. The Secretary shall disburse to an institution or 
        consortium the amounts awarded under the grant in such amounts 
        and at such times during the grant period as the Secretary 
        determines appropriate.
    ``(e) Report.--From the amounts appropriated to carry out this 
section, and not later than 3 years after the date on which the first 
grant is awarded under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report on the grant program established under subsection 
(a), including--
            ``(1) the number of grants awarded;
            ``(2) the institutions of higher education and consortia 
        that have received grants;
            ``(3) with respect to each such institution of higher 
        education and consortium--
                    ``(A) the amounts awarded;
                    ``(B) how such institution or consortium used such 
                amounts;
                    ``(C) a description of the students to whom 
                services were offered as a result of the award; and
                    ``(D) data enumerating whether the use of the 
                amounts awarded helped veteran students at the 
                institution or consortium toward completion of a 
                degree, certificate, or credential;
            ``(4) best practices for veteran student success, 
        identified by reviewing data provided by institutions and 
        consortia that received a grant under this section; and
            ``(5) a determination by the Secretary with respect to 
        whether the grant program under this section should be extended 
        or expanded.
    ``(f) Termination.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out the 
grant program established under subsection (a) shall terminate on the 
date that is 4 years after the date on which the first grant is awarded 
under subsection (a).
    ``(g) Department of Education Best Practices Website.--Subject to 
the availability of appropriations under subsection (i) and not later 
than 3 years after the date on which the first grant is awarded under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop and implement a website for 
veteran student services at institutions of higher education, which 
details best practices for serving veteran students at institutions of 
higher education.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        `institution of higher education' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101.
            ``(2) Veteran student center.--The term `Veteran Student 
        Center' means a dedicated space on a campus of an institution 
        of higher education that provides students who are veterans or 
        members of the Armed Forces with the following:
                    ``(A) A lounge or meeting space for such veteran 
                students, their spouses or partners, and veterans in 
                the community.
                    ``(B) A centralized office for veteran services 
                that--
                            ``(i) is a single point of contact to 
                        coordinate comprehensive support services for 
                        veteran students;
                            ``(ii) is staffed by trained employees and 
                        volunteers, which includes veterans and at 
                        least one full-time employee or volunteer who 
                        is trained as a veterans' benefits counselor;
                            ``(iii) provides veteran students with 
                        assistance relating to--
                                    ``(I) transitioning from the 
                                military to student life;
                                    ``(II) transitioning from the 
                                military to the civilian workforce;
                                    ``(III) networking with other 
                                veteran students and veterans in the 
                                community;
                                    ``(IV) understanding and obtaining 
                                benefits provided by the institution of 
                                higher education, Federal Government, 
                                and State for which such students may 
                                be eligible;
                                    ``(V) understanding how to succeed 
                                in the institution of higher education, 
                                including by understanding academic 
                                policies, the course selection process, 
                                and institutional policies and 
                                practices related to the transfer of 
                                academic credits; and
                                    ``(VI) understanding their 
                                disability-related rights and 
                                protections under the Americans with 
                                Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
                                12101 et seq.) and section 504 of the 
                                Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
                                794) ; and
                            ``(iv) provides comprehensive academic and 
                        tutoring services for veteran students, 
                        including peer-to-peer tutoring and academic 
                        mentorship.
    ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this part such sums as may be necessary for 
fiscal year 2016 and each of the 3 succeeding fiscal years.''.

SEC. 4. CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.

    An institution of higher education that received a grant under 
section 873 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161t) 
before the date of enactment of this Act, as such section 873 (20 
U.S.C. 1161t) was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
this Act, shall continue to receive funds in accordance with the terms 
and conditions of such grant.