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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2024
BATON ROUGE, La.—LDVA Secretary Charlton Meginley, COL (USAF Retired) is proud to announce that Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law House Bill 385 by Rep. Chuck Owen, which makes changes to Title 29 state educational benefits. HB 385 is a key part of LDVA’s efforts to retain service members who are currently stationed in Louisiana, and return those service members who left the state.
“Parents make important decisions centered around their child’s wellbeing every day, and because of this, we must identify barriers and implement change to give our servicemen and women reasons to live in our great state,” said Secretary Meginley. “HB 385 does just that, and I want to thank Rep. Chuck Owen for his support not only as a legislator, but as a fellow veteran as well.”
HB 385 makes a significant change to a veteran’s child’s ability to pursue higher educational goals by reducing a veteran’s residency requirement from two years to one year. This reduction provides an additional incentive to veterans to make Louisiana their home. Perhaps more significantly, if a service member permanently assigned in Louisiana was killed in action, or passed away under the conditions provided in the bill, his or her children receive a free college education. In these instances, the citizens of Louisiana acknowledge we could never repay the price paid by a parent’s ultimate sacrifice, but will do everything we can to provide for that child’s future.
Title 29 is a state educational benefit for children of veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 90% or more; children of veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 100% due to unemployability; and for surviving spouses of deceased veterans.
For more information about Title 29, contact a veterans assistance counselor at a parish veterans service office by using LDVA’s locator at vetaffairs.la.gov/locations, emailing veteran@la.gov or calling 225.219.5000.
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