An Act to establish an educational assistance program for children of servicemen who died as a result of a disability incurred in line of duty during World War II or the Korean service period in combat or from the instrumentality of war.
PL 84-634 (H.R.9824), enacted 06/29/1956

70 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
4:11 
Public Law 634 
CHAPTER 476 
AN A C T 
June 29, 1956 
To establish an educational assistance program for children of servicemen who —'•"• ^ ' — ^ ^ 
died as a result of a disability or disease incurred in line of duty during World 
War I, AVorld AA'ar II, or the Korean conflict. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
Vnited States of America in Congress assembled^ That this Act may 
^^^lln^lli^^Rl-
be cited as tlie "War Orphans' Kducatioiial Assistance Act of i95B'" 
s i s t a n c e Act of 
1956. 
TITLE I—STATEMENT OF POLICY: DEFINITIONS 
STATEMEXT OF POLICY 
SEC. 101. The Congress hereby dechires that the educational pro-
gram establislied by this Act is for the purpose of providing oppor-
tunities for education to children ^hose education would otherwise 
be impeded or interrupted by reason of the death of a parent from a 
disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the Armed Forces during 
World War I, World War II, or the Korean conflict, and for the 
purpose of aiding such children in attaining the educational status 
which they might normally have aspired to and obtained but for the 
death of such parent. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 102. (a) For the purposes of this Act— 
(1) The term ''World War I" means the period beginning on April 
6, 1917. and ending on November 11, 1918. 
(2) The term "World War II'' means the period beginning on 
December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946. 
(3) The term "Korean conflict" means the period beginning on 
June 27,1950, and ending on January 31, 1955. 
(4) The term "eligible person'' means a child of a person who died 
of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the 
active service in the Armed Forces during World War I, World 
War II, or the.Korean conflict, but only if such service did not termi-
nate under dishonorable conditions. The standards and criteria for 
determining incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in line 
of duty shall be those applicable under disability compensation laws 
administered by the Veterans' Administration. 
(5) The term "child" means a legitimate or legally adopted child, 
a stepchild if he was a member of the household of the parent from 
whom eligibility is derived, or an illegitimate child if it is show^n by 
evidence satisfactory to the Administrator that the person from whom 
eligibility is derived was the parent. 
(6) The term "Armed Forces'' means the Army, Navy, Air Force, 
Marine Corps, and Coast Guard of the United States. 
(7) The term "duty with the Armed Forces" as used in section 203 
means (A) full-time duty in the active military or naval service, other 
than for training purposes, (B) full-time active duty for training 
for a period of six or more consecutive months by a member of a re-
serve component (including the National Guard), or (C) active duty 
for training required by section 262 (c) (1) of the Armed Forces 
50 u*sc* fo 1
*
3
. 
Reserve Act of 1952. 
(8) The term "parent or guardian'' means a father, a mother, a 
father through adoption, a mother through adoption, a fiduciary 
legally appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, or any per-
son who is determined by the Administrator in accordance with sec-
tion 21 of the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended (38 U. S. C, 
412 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
[70 ST AT. 
49 Stat. 60 7. 
g^ 450), to be otherwise legally vested with the care of the eligible 
person. 
(9) The term "program of education" means any curriculum or 
any combination of unit courses or subjects pursued at an educational 
institution which is generally accepted as necessary to fulfill the 
requirements for the attainment of a predetermined and identified 
educational, professional, or vocational objective. 
(10) The term "educational institution" means any public or pri-
vate secondary school, vocational school, business school, junior college, 
teachers- college, college, normal school, professional school, univer-
sity, or scientific or technical institution, or any other institution if it 
furnishes education at the secondary school level or above. 
(11) The term "State" means each of the several States, Territories, 
and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, and 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Bico. 
(12) The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of Vet-
erans' Affairs. 
(13) The term "special restorative training" means training fur-
nished under title IV. 
(b) If an eligible person has attained his majority and is under no 
known legal disability, all references in this Act to "parent or guard-
ian" shall refer to the eligible person himself. 
(c) Any provision of this Act which requires any action to be 
taken by or with respect to the parent or guardian of an eligible person 
who has not attained his majority, or who, having attained his major-
ity, is under a legal disability, shall not apply when the Administrator 
determines that its application would not be in the best interest of the 
eligible person, would result in undue delay, or would not be adminis-
tratively feasible. 
In such a case the Administrator, where necessary 
to protect the interest of the eligible person, may designate some other 
person (who may be the eligible person himself) as the person by or 
with respect to whom the action so required should be taken. 
TITLE II—ELIGIBILITY AND ENTITLEMENT 
ELIGIBILITY AND ENTITLEMENT GENERALLY 
SEC. 201. Each eligible person shall, subject to the provisions of 
this Act, be entitled to receive educational assistance. 
DtlRATION o r E D U C A T I O N A L ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 202. (a) Each eligible person shall be entitled to educational 
assistance under this Act for a period not in excess of thirty-six 
months (or to the equivalent thereof in part-time training). 
(b) The period of entitlement of an eligible person under this Act 
shall be reduced by a period equivalent to any period of education or 
training received by him under title I I of the Veterans' Readjustment 
staf i m ^^' ^^ Assistance Act of 1952 or of vocational rehabilitation training re-
la u s*c 9 11, ceived by him under Public Law 894, Eighty-first Congress. 
(c) The period of entitlement of an eligible veteran under title I I 
of the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 shall be reduced 
by an amount equivalent to any period of educational assistance re-
ceived by him under this Act. 
(d) If an eligible person is entitled to educational assistance under 
this Act and also to vocational rehabilitation under Public Law 894, 
Eighty-first Congress, he must elect whether he will receive educa-
tional assistance or vocational rehabilitation. 
If an eligible person is 
entitled to educational assistance under this Act and is not entitled to 
701a. 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 6 3 4 - J U N E 29, 1956 
413 
such vocational rehabilitation, but after beginning his program of 
education or special restorative training becomes entitled (as deter-
mined by the Administrator) to such vocational rehabilitation, he 
must elect whether to continue to receive educational assistance or 
whether to receive such vocational rehabilitation. If he elects to re-
ceive vocational rehabilitation, the program of education or special 
restorative training pursued under this Act shall be utilized to the 
fullest extent practicable in determining the character and duration 
of vocational rehabilitation to be furnished him. 
PERIODS OF ELIGIBILITY 
SEC. 203. (a) The educational assistance to which an eligible person 
is entitled under section 202 may be afforded him during the period 
beginning on his eighteenth birthday, or on the successful completion 
of his secondary schooling, whichever first occurs, and ending on his 
twenty-third birthday, except that— 
(1) if he is above the age of compulsory school attendance 
under applicable State law, and the Administrator determines 
that his best interests will be served thereby, such period may be-
gin before his eighteenth birthday; 
(2) if he has not reached his twenty-third birthday on the 
effective date of this Act and— 
(A) he has reached his eighteenth birthday on such effec-
tive date, or 
(B) he serves on duty with the Armed Forces as an eligible 
person before his twenty-third birthday and on or after such 
effective date, or 
(C) the death of the parent from whom eligibility was de-
rived occurs after such effective date and after his eighteenth 
birthday but before his twenty-third birthday— 
then such period shall end five years after such effective date, his 
first discharge or release after such effective date from duty with 
the Armed Forces if such duty began before his twenty-third 
birthday, or the death of such parent, whichever occurs last, 
except that in no event shall such period be extended beyond his 
thirty-first birthday by reason of this paragraph; and 
(3) (A) if he is enrolled in an educational institution regu-
larly operated on a quarter or semester system and such period 
ends during the last half of a quarter or semester, such period 
shall be extended to the end of the quarter or semester; or 
(B) if he is enrolled in an educational institution operated 
other than on a quarter or semester basis and such period ends 
during the last half of the course, such period shall be extended 
to the end of the course, or until nine weeks have expired, which-
ever first occurs, 
(b) No eligible person may be afforded educational assistance under 
this Act unless he was discharged or released after each period he A
V
U
S 
on duty with the Armed Forces under conditions other than dishon-
orable, or while he is on duty with the Armed Forces. 
APPLICATION 
SEC. 204. The parent or guardian of a person for whom educational 
assistance is sought under this Act shall submit an application to the 
Administrator which shall be in such form and contain such infor-
mation as the Administrator shall prescribe. If the Administrator 
finds that the person on whose behalf the application is submitted is 
Honorable 
d i e -
charge* 
414 
PUBLIC LAW 634r-JUNE 29, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
an eligible person, he shall approve the application provisionally. 
The Administrator shall notify the parent or guardian of his pro-
visional approval, or of his disapproval of the application. 
PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS 
SEC. 205. (a) Further processing of an application for educational 
assistance and the award of such assistance shall be pursuant to the 
requirements of title III, unless the parent or guardian requests special 
restorative training for the eligible person, in which case the applica-
tion will be processed under title IV. 
(b) If the request for special restorative training is approved, edu-
cational assistance will be afforded pursuant to the terms of title IV. 
If the request for special restorative training is disapproved, or if 
approved the restorative training is completed or discontinued, any 
educational assistance subsequently afforded will be in accordance 
with title III. 
TITLE III—PROGRAM OF EDUCATION 
DEVELOPMENT OP EDUCATIONAL PLAN 
SEC. 301. Upon provisional approval of an application for edu-
cational assistance, the Administrator shall arrange for, and the eligi-
ble person shall take advantage of, educational or vocational counsel-
ing to assist the parent or guardian and the eligible person in selecting 
his educational, vocational, or professional objective and in develop-
ing his program of education. 
During, or subsequent to, such coun-
seling, the parent or guardian shall prepare for the eligible person 
an educational plan w^hich shall set forth the selected objective, the 
proposed program of education, a list of the educational institutions 
at which such program would be pursued, an estimate of the sum 
which would be required for tuition and fees in completion of such 
program, and such other information as the Administrator shall 
require. 
This educational plan shall be signed by the parent or guard-
ian and shall become an integral part of the application for educa-
tional assistance under this Act. 
FINAL APPROVAL OF APPLICATION 
SEC. 302. The Administrator shall finally approve an application 
if he finds (1) that section 301 has been complied with, (2) that the 
proposed program of education constitutes a "program of education" 
as that term is defined in this Act, (3) that the eligible person is not 
already qualified, by reason of previous education or training, for 
the educational, professional, or vocational objective for which the 
courses of the program of education are offered, and (4) that it does 
not appear that the pursuit of such program would violate any pro-
vison of this Act. 
CHANGE o r PROGRAM 
SEC. 303. An eligible person, with the concurrence of his parent or 
guardian, may request changes in his program. The Administrator 
shall approve an initial change of program, and may approve not 
more than one additional change, if he finds that— 
(1) the program of education which the eligible person pro-
poses to pursue is suitable to his aptitudes, interests, and abilities; 
and 
(2) in any instance where the eligible person has interrupted, 
or failed to progress in, his program due to his own misconduct, 
70 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
*15 
his own neglect, or his own lack of application, there exists a 
reasonable likelihood with respect to the program which the 
eligible person proposes to pursue that there will not be a recur-
rence of such an interruption or failure to progress. 
DISAPPROVAL o r ENROLLMENT I N CERTAIN COURSES 
SEC. 304. (a) (1) The Administrator shall not approve the enroll-
ment of an eligible person in any bartending course, dancing course, 
or personality development course. 
(2) The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment of an 
eligible person— 
(1) in any photography course or entertainment course, or 
(2) in any music course—instrumental or vocal—public speak-
ing course, or course in sports or athletics such as horseback rid-
ing, swimming, fishing, skiing, golf, baseball, tennis, bowling, 
sports officiating, or other sport or athletic courses, except courses 
of applied music, physical education, or public speaking which 
are offered by institutions of higher learning for credit as an in-
tegral part of a program leading to an educational objective, or 
(3) in any other type of course w^hich the Administrator finds 
to be avocational or recreational in character; 
unless the eligible person submits justification showing that the course 
will be of bona fide use in the pursuit of his present or contemplated 
business or occupation. 
(b) The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment of an eligi-
ble person in any course of flight training other than one given by 
an educational institution of higher learning for credit toward a 
standard college degree the eligible person is seeking. 
(c) The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment of an 
eligible person in any course of apprentice or other training on the 
job, any course of institutional on-farm training, any course to be 
pursued by correspondence, television, or radio, or any course to be 
pursued at an educational institution not located in a State. 
(d) The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment of an 
eligible person in any course which is to be pursued as a part of his 
regular secondary school education, but this subsection shall not pre-
vent the enrollment of an eligible person in a course to be pursued 
below the college level if the Administrator finds that such person 
has ended his secondary school education (by completion or other-
wise) and that such course is a specialized vocational course pursued 
for the purpose of qualifying in a bona fide vocational objective. 
DISCONTINUANCE 
FOR UNSATISFACTORY 
PROGRESS 
SEC. 305. The Administrator shall discontinue the educational 
assistance allowance on behalf of an eligible person if, at any time, 
the Administrator finds that according to the regularly prescribed 
standards and practices of the educational institution he is attending, 
his conduct or progress is unsatisfactory. 
The Administrator may 
renew the payment of the educational assistance allowance only if 
he finds that^— 
(1) the cause of the unsatisfactory conduct or progress of the 
eligible person has been removed, and 
(2) the program which the eligible person now proposes to 
pursue (whether the same or revised) is suitable to his aptitudes, 
interests, and abilities. 
416 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
PERIOD 
OF 
OPERATION 
FOR 
APPROVAL, 
SEC. 806. (a) The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment 
of an eligible person in any course offered by an educational institu-
tion when such course has been in operation for less than two years. 
(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to— 
(1) any course to be pursued in a public or other tax-supported 
educational institution; 
(2) any course which is offered by an educational institution 
which has been in operation for more than two years, if such 
course is similar in character to the instruction previously given 
by such institution; or 
(3) any course which has been offered by an institution for a 
period of more than two years, notwithstanding the institution 
has moved to another location within the same general locality. 
INSTITUTIONS LISTED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL 
SEC. 307. The Administrator shall not approve the enrollment of, or 
payment of an educational assistance allowance to, any eligible person 
in any course in an educational institution while it is listed by the 
Attorney General under section 3 of part I I I of Executive Order 9835, 
5 use 631 note, ^g amended. 
E D U C A T I O N A L ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE 
SEC. 308. (a) The Administrator shall pay to the parent or guard-
ian of each eligible person who is pursuing a program of education 
under this Act, and who applies therefor on l^half of such eligible 
person, an educational assistance allowance to meet, in part, the ex-
penses of the eligible person's subsistence, tuitiwi, fees, supplies, books, 
equipment, and other educational costs. 
(b) The educational assistance allowance on behalf of an eligible 
person shall be paid, as provided in section 309, only for the period 
of his enrollment as approved by the Administrator, out no allowance 
shall be paid— 
(1) on behalf of any person enrolled in a course which 
leads to a standard college degree for any period when such 
person is not pursuing his course in accordance with the regu-
larly established policies and regulations of the educational 
institution and the requirements of this Act, or 
(2) on behalf of any person enrolled in a course which does 
not lead to a standard college degree for any day of absence in 
excess of thirty days i,n a twelve-month period, not counting as 
absences weekends or legal holidays established by Federal or 
State law during which the institution is not regularly in session. 
(c) No educational assistance allowance shall be paid on behalf of 
an eligible person for any period until the Administrator shall have 
received— 
(1) from the eligible person (A) in the case of an eligible 
person enrolled in a course which leads to a standard college 
degree, a certification that he was actually enrolled in and pur-
suing the course as approved by the Administrator, or (B) in 
the case of an eligible person enrolled in a course which does not 
lead to a standard college degree, a certification as to actual 
attendance during such period, and 
(2) from the educational institution a certification, or an 
endorsement on the eligible person's certificate, that he was en-
rolled in and pursuing a course of education during such period. 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
4<t7 
Educational assistance allowances shall, insofar as practicable, be paid 
within twenty days after receipt by the Administrator of the certifica-
tions required by this subsection. 
COMPUTATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE 
SEC. 309. (a) The educational assistance allowance on behalf of an 
eligible person who is pursuing a program of education consisting of 
institutional courses shall be computed at the rate of (1) $110 per 
month if pursued on a full-time basis, (2) $80 per month if pursued 
on a three-quarters time basis, and (3) $50 per month if pursued on 
a half-time basis. 
(b) The educational assistance allowance to be paid on behalf of 
an eligible person who is pursuing a full-time program of education 
which consists of institutional courses and alternate phases of training 
in a business or industrial establishment with the training in the busi-
ness or industrial establishment being strictly supplemental to the 
institutional portion, shall be computed at the rate of $90 per month. 
(c) No educational assistance allowance shall be paid on behalf of 
an eligible person for any period during which he is enrolled in and 
pursunig an institutional course on a less than half-time basis, or any 
course described in subsection (b) on a less than full-time basis. 
MEASUREMENT or COURSES 
SEC. 310. (a) For the purposes of this Act, (1) an institutional 
trade or technical course offered on a clock-hour basis below the col-
lege level involving shop practice as an integral part thereof, shall be 
considered a full-time course when a minimum of thirty hours per 
week of attendance is required with no more than two and one-half 
hours of rest periods per week allowed, (2) an institutional course 
offered on a clock-hour basis below the college level in which theo-
retical or classroom instruction predominates shall be considered a 
full-time course when a minimum of twenty-five hours per week net 
of instruction is required, and (3) an institutional undergraduate 
course offered by a college or university on a quarter or semester hour 
basis for which credit is granted toward a standard college degree 
shall be considered a full-time course when a minimum of fourteen 
semester hours or its equivalent is required. 
(b) The Administrator shall define part-time training in the case 
of the types of courses referred to in subsection (a), and shall define 
full-time and part-time training in the cases of all other types of 
courses pursued under this Act. 
OVERCHARGES BY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 
SEC. 311. (a) If the Administrator finds that an educational insti-
tution has charged or received from any eligible person any amount 
in excess of the charges for tuition and fees which such institution re-
quires similarly circumstanced students, not receiving educational as-
sistance under this Act, who are enrolled in the same course to pay, he 
may disapprove such educational institution for the enrollment of 
any eligible person not already enrolled therein under this Act and any 
eligible veteran not already enrolled therein under the Veterans' Re- flusc'Qoi^ote. 
adjustment Assistance Act of 1952. 
(b) Any educational institution which has been disapproved under 
section 234 of the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 38 use 944. 
shall be deemed to be disapproved for the enrollment under this Act 
of any eligible person not already enrolled therein. 
692E5 0 - 5 7 - 3 1 (Vol. 70) 
418 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
APPROVAL o r COURSES 
SEC. 312. (a) An eligible person shall receive the benefits of this 
title while enrolled in a course of education offered by an educational 
institution only if such course is approved in accordance with the 
provisions of this section. 
(b) Any course offered by an educational institution (as defined 
in this Act) shall be considered approved for the purposes of this 
title if it is approved under either section 253 or section 254 of the 
38usc*963f*964, Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 prior to the date 
966. 
' 
' for the expiration of all education and training thereunder, and has 
not been disapproved under the provisions of section 256 of that Act. 
(c) Subsequent to the date for the expiration of all education and 
38 use901 note, training under the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952, 
the Administrator shall be responsible for the approval of any addi-
tional courses for the purposes of this title. 
In approving such a 
38USC963J 964. course, the criteria of section 253 and section 254 of that Act, as now 
or as hereafter amended, shall be applicable to approvals under this 
subsection and the Administrator may utilize the services of State 
educational agencies in connection therewith. 
DISCONTINUANCE OF ALLOWANCES 
SEC. 313. The Administrator may discontinue the educational as-
sistance allowance of any eligible person if he finds that the course 
of education in which the eligible person is enrolled fails to meet any 
of the requirements of this Act or any of the standards and criteria 
of section 253 or 254 of the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 
38 use 963, 964. ^952 O
T if he finds that the educational institution offering such course 
has violated any provision of this Act or fails to meet any of its re-
quirements. 
TITLE IV—SPECIAL RESTORATIVE TRAINING 
PURPOSE 
SEC. 401. The purpose of special restorative training is to over-
come, or lessen, the effects of a manifest physical or mental disability 
which would handicap an eligible person in the pursuit of a program 
of education. 
ENTITLEMENT TO SPECIAL RESTORATIVE TRAINING 
SEC. 402. (a) The Administrator at the request of the parent or 
guardian of an eligible person is authorized— 
(1) to determine whether such person is in need of special 
restorative training; and 
(2) where need is found to exist, to prescribe a course which 
is suitable to accomplish the purposes of this title. 
Such a course, at the discretion of the Administrator, may contain 
elements that would contribute toward an ultimate objective of a pro-
gram of education. 
(b) In no event shall the total period of educational assistance 
under this title and other titles of this Act exceed the am.ount of 
:*' •" entitlement as established in section 202, and the provisions of section 
203 shall be applicable. 
70 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
419 
SPECIAL TRMNING ALLOWANCE 
SEC. 403. (a) While tlie eligible j^erson is enrolled in and pursuing 
a full-time course of special restorative training, the parent or guard-
ian shall be entitled to receive on his behalf a special training allow-
ance computed at the basic rate of $110 per month. If the charges for 
tuition and fees applicable to any such course are in excess of $35 per 
calendar month the basic monthly allowance may be increased by 
the amount that such charges exceed $35 a month, upon election by 
the parent or guardian of the eligible person to have such person's 
period of entitlement reduced by one day for each $3.60 that the 
special training allowance paid exceeds the basic monthly allowance. 
(b) No payments of a special training allowance shall be made 
for the same period for which the payment of an educational assist-
ance allowance is made or for any period during which the training 
is pursued on less than a full-time basis. 
(c) Full-time training for the purpose of this section shall be 
determined by the Administrator with respect to the capacities of 
the individual trainee. 
SPECL4L ADMIXISTKATIVE PROVISIONS 
SEC. 404. (a) In carrying out his responsibilities under this title 
the Administrator may by agreement arrange with public or private 
educational institutions or others to provide training arrangements 
as may be suitable and necessary to accomplish the purposes of this 
title. In any instance where the Administrator finds that a customary 
tuition charge is not applicable, he may agree on the fair and reason-
able amounts which may be charged the parent or guardian for the 
training provided to an eligible person. 
(b) The Administrator shall make such rules and regulations as 
he may deem necessary in order to promote good conduct on the part 
of the persons who are following courses of special restorative training 
and to otherwise carry out the purpose of this Act. 
TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PKOVISIONS 
AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF ADMINISTRATOR 
SEC. 501. (a) The Administrator is authorized to prescribe, promul-
gate, and publish such rules and regulations as are consistent with the 
provisions of this Act and necessary to carry out its purposes. 
Not-
withstanding the provisions of section 11 of the Act of October 17, 
1940, as amended (54 Stat. 1193), payments under this Act shall be 
H l^i^ iVa-z, 
subject to audit and review by the General Accounting Office, as 
provided by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, as amended, 
Ij ^t^u 20. 
and the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950. 
64 stat. 8
*
3
2
. 
(b) The Administrator is authorized to accept uncompensated 
' 
'^ " 
services and to enter into contracts or agreements with private or 
public agencies, or jDersons, for necessary services, incident to the ad-
ministration of this Act, including personal services, as he may deem 
practicable. 
(c) The Administrator is autliorized to provide the educational and 
vocational counseling required under section 301, and may provide or 
require additional counseling if he deems it to be necessary to accom-
plish the purposes of this Act. 
Where educational or vocational 
counseling is required pursuant to this Act, the Administrator is 
authorized, in his discretion, to defray or reimburse the parent or 
guardian for the necessary traveling expenses of the eligible person 
to and from the place of counseling. 
31 u s e 2 note. 
420 
PUBLIC LAW 634r-JUNE 29, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
(d) The Administrator may advise and consult with the Advisory 
Committee established pursuant to section 262 of the Veterans' Ke-
fs u*sc 9
7
^
2
.
* 
adjustment Assistance Act of 1952, with respect to the administration 
of this Act. 
(e) In carrying out his functions under this Act, the Administrator 
may utilize the facilities and services of any other Federal department 
or agency. 
Any such utilization shall be pursuant to proper agree-
ment with the Federal department or agency concerned; and payment 
to cover the cost thereof shall be made either in advance or by way 
of reimbursement, as may be provided in such agreement. 
NONDUPLICATION OF BENEFITS 
SEC. 502. (a) The commencement of a program of education or 
special restorative training under this Act shall be a bar to subsequent 
payments of compensation or pension under any law administered by 
the Veterans' Administration based on the death of a parent to an 
eligible person over the age of eighteen by reason of pursuing a course 
in an educational institution, or of increased rates, or additional 
amounts, of compensation or pension under any law administered 
by the Veterans' Administration because of such a person. 
(b) No educational assistance allowance or special training allow-
ance shall be paid on behalf of any eligible person under fliis Act 
for any period during which such person is enrolled in and pursuing 
a course of education or training paid for by the United States under 
any provision of law other than this Act, where the payment of an 
allowance would constitute a duplication of benefits paid from the 
Federal Treasury to the eligible person or to his parent or guardian 
in his behalf. 
CONTROL BY AGENCIES OF UNITED STATES 
SEC. 503. No department, agency, or officer of the United States, 
in carrying out this Act, shall exercise any supervision or control, 
whatsoever, over any State approving agency, or State educational 
agency, or any educational institution; however, nothing in this 
section shall be deemed to prevent any department, agency, or officer 
of the United States from exercising any supervision or control which 
such department, agency, or officer is authorized, by existing pro-
visions of law, to exercise over any Federal educational institution or 
to prevent the furnishing of education under this Act in any institu-
tion over which supervision or control is exercised by such other 
department, agency, or officer under authority of existing provisions 
of law. 
CONFLICTING INTERESTS 
SEC. 504. (a) Every officer or employee of the Veterans' Adminis-
tration who has, while such an officer or employee, owned any interest 
in, or received any wages, salary, dividends, profits, gratuities, or 
services from, any educational institution operated for profit in which 
an eligible person was pursuing a course of education under this Act 
shall be immediately dismissed from his office or employment. 
(b) The Administrator may, after reasonable notice and public 
hearings, waive in writing the application of this section in the case 
of any officer or employee of the Veterans' Administration, if he finds 
that no detriment will result to the United States or to eligible persons 
by reason of such interest or connection of such officer or employee. 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
421 
REPORTS BY INSTITUTIONS 
SEC, 505. (a) Educational institutions shall, without delay, report 
to the Administrator in the form prescribed by him, the enrollment, 
interruption, and termination of the education of each eligible person 
enrolled therein under this Act. 
(b) The Administrator shall pay to each educational institution 
which is required to submit reports and certifications to the Adminis-
trator under this Act, an allowance at the rate of $1 per month for 
each eligible person enrolled in and attending such institution under 
the provisions of this Act to assist the educational institution in 
defraying the expense of preparing and submitting such reports and 
certifications. 
Such allowances shall be paid in such manner and 
at such times as may be prescribed by the Administrator, except that 
in the event any institution fails to submit reports or certifications to 
the Administrator as required by this Act, no allowance shall be paid 
to such institution for the month or months during which such 
reports or certifications were not submitted as required by the 
Administrator. 
OVERPAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS 
SEC. 506. If the Administrator finds that an overpayment has been 
made to an eligible person as the result of (1) the willful or negligent 
failure of an educational institution to report, as required by this 
Act and applicable regulations, to the Veterans' Administration exces-
sive absences from a course, or discontinuance or interruption of a 
course by the eligible person or (2) false certification by an educa-
tional institution, the amount of such overpayment shall constitute 
a liability of such institution, and may be recovered in the same 
manner as any other debt due the United States. Any amount so 
collected shall be reimbursed if the overpayment is recovered from the 
eligible person. 
This section shall not preclude the imposition of 
any civil or criminal action under this or any other Act. 
EXAMINATION OF RECORDS 
SEC. 507. The records and accounts of educational institutions per-
taining to eligible persons who received education under this Act 
shall be available for examination by duly authorized representatives 
of the Government. 
FALSE OR MISLEADING 
STATEMENTS 
SEC. 508. The Administrator shall not make any payments under 
this Act to any person found by him to have willfully submitted any 
false or misleading claims. 'WTienever the Administrator finds that 
an educational institution has willfully submitted a false or mislead-
ing claim, or that a person with the complicity of an educational 
institution, has submitted such a claim, he shall make a complete 
report of the facts of the case to the appropriate State approving 
agency and where deemed advisable to the Attorney General of the 
United States for appropriate action. 
CRIMINAL PENALTIES 
SEC. 509. Whoever knowingly and willfully— 
(1) makes or presents any false, fictitious, or fraudulent affi-
davit, declaration, certificate, voucher, endorsement, or paper or 
422 
PUBLIC LAW 634-JUNE 29, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
writing purporting to be such, concerning any claim for payment 
under this Act, or pertaining to any matter arising under this 
Act, 
(2) makes or presents any paper required under this Act on 
which paper a date other than the date upon which it was actually 
signed or acknowledged by the claimant has been willfully in-
serted, 
(3) certifies falsely that the declarant, affiant, or witness named 
in such affidavit, declaration, voucher, endorsement, or other 
paper or writing personally appeared before him and was sworn 
thereto, or acknowledged the execution thereof, or 
(4) accepts and converts to his own use payments for any 
period during which he was not actually pursuing a course of 
education under this Act for which period payment was made, 
shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than three 
years, or both. 
APPLICATION o r OTHER LAWS 
SEC. 510. The provisions of Public Law Numbered 262, Seventy-
38use 450 note, fourth Congrcss, approved August 12, 1935 (49 Stat. 607), as 
amended, the provisions of section 15 of Public Law Numbered 2, 
38 us^c* 7V5. 
Seventy-third Congress, as amended, the provisions of paragraph V, 
38usech. i*2A. part I, Veterans Regulation Numbered 2 (a), as amended, and the 
38 u*^c' io^f-Vo4 provisions of titles I I and I I I of Public Law Numbered 844, Seventy-
619 note, 131-133.' fourth Cougrcss, approved June 29, 1936, as amended, shall be for 
application under this Act. 
WAIVER OF RECOVERY OE OVERPAYMENTS 
SEC. 511. There shall be no recovery of payments of educational as-
sistance allowance made under this Act from any person who, in the 
judgment of the Administrator, is without fault on his part and 
where, in the judgment of the Administrator, such recovery would 
defeat the purpose of benefits otherwise authorized or would be 
against equity and good conscience. No disbursing officer or certify-
ing officer shall be held liable for any amount paid to any person where 
the recovery of such amount is waived under this section. 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 512. This Act shall take effect on the date of its enactment, but 
no educational assistance allowance shall be paid for any period 
before the first day of the first month which begins more than ninety 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 513. The appropriations for the Veterans' Administration 
under the headings "General Operating Expenses" and "Readjust-
ment Benefits" are hereby made available for expenditures necessary 
to carry out the provisions of this Act and there is hereby authorized 
to be appropriated such additional amounts as may be necessary 
to accomj)lish the purposes of this Act. 
Approved June 29, 1956.