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Can I Attend a Police Academy with My GI Bill?

July 8th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
I just returned from my second tour in Iraq.  I have been a member of the National Guard for ten years.  My question is can I use my GI Bill to go to the police academy?  I have a friend that told me he did, but he couldn’t tell me how.  So if you could help me out I would be greatly in your debt.  Thanks, Eric

Hi Eric, It is going to depend on which GI Bill you plan on using to attend a police academy as to how you go about doing it.

If you are planning on using the Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve, then there should not really be any problem.  As long as the police academy is an approved program then the MGIB-SR should provide you with financial assistance for attending it.

If you are planning on using the Post 9/11 GI Bill to attend the academy, then it gets a little more complicated.  The Post 9/11 GI Bill was created to assist service members and veterans who wanted to pursue a degree program so the benefits can only be used at an institution of higher learning.  The VA defines an institution of higher learning as a school that is approved to award at least an associate’s degree.

What all this mean to you is that you are going to have to find a police academy that is affliated with an institution of higher learning if you want to use Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to attend it.  You don’t have to earn a degree while attending the academy, but the academy has to be a part of a school that can award a degree.

This may not be as difficult as it sounds.  I found a police academy the other day in Pennsylvania that is approved for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and you may be able to find one close to your location.  You can search for approved Post 9/11 GI Bill programs and schools at this VA webpage.  If it is listed there, then you should be able to use Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to attend it.  When you find a school you are interested in, it wouldn’t hurt to contact the VA Certifying Official at the school to discuss your plans and make sure your benefits will cover the program.

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Posted in Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserves, New GI Bill, Veterans Education Benefits | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Can I Attend a Police Academy with My GI Bill?”

  1. Jason Simpson says:
    September 1, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    I live in Arkansas and am willing to travel as needed but I can’t find a police academy I can attend using my post 9/11 GI BILL. can you help?? PLEASE!!!

  2. Ron Kness says:
    September 2, 2010 at 9:14 am

    The Post 9/11 GI Bill is geared toward programs that at the end produce some type of degree, such as an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. If you police academy training does terminate with a degree, that is why you can’t use your Post 9/11 GI Bill.

    What you need to do is find either a police academy that issues a degree or find an academy that teaches under a school that also has degree-producing courses. Then your police course may be covered. Once (or if) you find such a course, then contact the VA first to see if you can use your Post 9/11 GI Bill to take the course. This would have been an instance where it would have been better to keep the Montgomery GI Bill.

    Ron

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