• Texas provides veterans with education benefits in addition to federal benefits.texas map image by Vladislav Gajic from Fotolia.com
  
  Texas, like other states, provides its veterans with additional benefits to the GI Bill and VA System. Specifically, Texas awards its honorably discharged veterans with educational rewards. These benefits, usually in the form of tuition reduction, can also be extended to children and spouses.
  
  

Hazlewood Exemption

• The Hazlewood Exemption, or the Hazlewood Act, provides honorably discharged or separated Texas veterans, dependent children and spouses with tuition reduction at Texas public colleges. The exemption does not include fees. To be eligible veterans must have entered Texas as state of home record, be Texas residents and entered the service in Texas. Candidates must have served 181 days of active duty and have no federal education benefits for veterans exceeding the amount of the Hazlewood Exemption. Recipients can not be in default on a federal loan. Also, veterans may assign unused hours to dependents through the legacy program of the act. Here, dependents need to be 25 years or younger at the start of classes and reside in Texas.
  
  

GI Bill

• The Montgomery GI Bill (the GI Bill) or Chapter 30 allots up to 36 months of education supports to eligible veterans. These benefits can be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeships, correspondence courses and flight training. The benefits are usually payable for 10 years after release from active duty. Standard GI Bill monthly payments are $1,004 (as of 2010), and some veterans receive additional monies from the Department of Defense. The Veterans Administration does not discuss or deal with the DOD funds as the DOD directly handles those. For more information on accessing the GI Bill, and other education benefits, veterans should contact the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) or their Veterans County Service Officer. The TVC's website has a listing for representatives by division in the state.
  
  

Troops To Teachers

• Texas also takes part in the Troops to Teachers program, which is funded by the Department of Education. This program is managed via the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support. The program helps veterans streamline the process of obtaining degrees and certifications for teaching and it helps place veterans in areas with the most need.