To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit an educational institution from withholding a transcript from an individual who pursued a course or program of education at such institution using Post-9/11 educational assistance.
H.R. 5436 would amend title 38, United States Code, to prevent educational institutions from withholding a transcript from a person who attended a course or program using Post-9/11 educational assistance (GI Bill benefits) solely because that person owes a debt to the institution. The bill adds a new Sec. 3328 to Subchapter III of Chapter 33, making it unlawful for an institution to block transcript release on the basis of debt owed to the school, while allowing other, non-debt-related reasons for withholding to remain possible. In short, veterans and other students who used Post-9/11 benefits would be protected from transcript holds tied only to institutional debt, facilitating their ability to pursue employment, further education, or other opportunities that require an official transcript.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition: Educational institutions may not withhold a student’s transcript solely because the student owes a debt to the institution, for those who used Post-9/11 educational assistance under Chapter 33.
- 2New Regulation: Adds Sec. 3328, titled “Prohibition of withholding transcripts,” to Subchapter III of Chapter 33, and adjusts the table of sections accordingly.
- 3Scope: Applies to individuals who attended a course or program using Post-9/11 educational benefits; does not explicitly require waiving debts, but restricts transcript holds based solely on debt.
- 4Relationship to other grounds: Withholding may still be permitted for other, non-debt-related reasons (the bill targets only transcript holds that are solely because of debt).
- 5Enactment Path: Introduced in the House (sponsors listed as Rep. Mannion and Rep. Moylan); referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. No explicit enforcement or effective date language is provided in the text excerpt.