This bill prohibits educational institutions from withholding a student's transcript solely because the student used Post-9/11 educational assistance and has an outstanding balance related to that assistance.
John Mannion
Representative
NY-22
This bill amends federal law to prohibit educational institutions from withholding academic transcripts from individuals who used Post-9/11 educational assistance benefits. Specifically, schools cannot deny a transcript solely because a student has an outstanding balance related to their use of those benefits. This ensures veterans and other beneficiaries can access their records regardless of certain outstanding debts to the institution.
New Bill Stops Colleges From Withholding Veteran Transcripts Over GI Bill Debt
If you’ve ever tried to transfer schools or apply for a job that requires proof of your degree, you know the official transcript is everything. It’s the gatekeeper. For veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, that gatekeeper has sometimes turned into a debt collector, but this new legislation aims to change that.
This bill amends title 38 of the U.S. Code to prohibit an educational institution from withholding a transcript from a student who used Post-9/11 educational assistance (like the GI Bill) to pay for their education. The key here is that this protection kicks in if the outstanding balance owed to the school is related to the educational assistance received under that chapter. Basically, the school can’t hold your academic records hostage just because there was a hiccup or outstanding balance tied to your GI Bill funding.
Transcript Hostage Crisis: No More
Think about the typical scenario: A veteran finishes their two years at a community college using their GI Bill benefits and now wants to transfer to a four-year university to finish their degree. Maybe there was a small administrative fee or a change in enrollment that left a minor balance on their account that the VA didn’t cover, or maybe the VA payment was delayed. Currently, many schools simply refuse to release the official transcript until that balance is paid, even if it’s just a few hundred dollars.
This bill slams the door on that practice. If the debt is connected to the tuition, fees, or costs covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the school must release the transcript. This is a huge deal for career mobility. Without that transcript, a veteran can’t transfer credits, prove their education to a new employer, or enroll in grad school. It essentially locks them out of the next step in their life, turning a small debt into a massive barrier.
Where Schools Can Still Draw the Line
It’s important to note the specifics of the bill. It doesn't give veterans a free pass on all debts. Schools are still allowed to withhold transcripts if the outstanding balance is for a reason other than the educational assistance received under that chapter. For example, if a student owes money for campus housing, parking tickets, or unrelated library fines, the school can still use the transcript as leverage to collect that specific, non-educational debt. The focus here is strictly on ensuring that the funding mechanism designed to help veterans get an education doesn't become the reason they can’t prove they got one.
For schools, this means they lose one of their most powerful collection tools for GI Bill-related balances. While they can still pursue the debt through other means, they can no longer use the threat of blocking a veteran’s career progression as their primary leverage. This provision ensures that the investment in veteran education actually translates into usable credentials for the job market, making it easier for veterans to transition and use the skills they earned.