Federal relief law helps veteran students at UNLV

A new federal coronavirus relief law aims to provide protections for student military veterans.

President Donald Trump signed the Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 into law late Tuesday.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-nev., was one of the co-sponsors of the bill, which allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay student veterans who have had their work-study jobs at college and university campuses canceled by the COVID-19 outbreak. Provisions also include ensuring student veterans receive a housing allowance if their school has shut down.

UNLV’S Military & Veteran Services Center, which is operating remotely due to the pandemic, has 22 student employees through the VA work-study program, executive director Ross Bryant said Thursday. About half of them help with processing benefits, and half assist with a peer-to-peer mentoring program.

The center provides assistance for more than 1,800 UNLV students who are veterans or veterans’ family members, including managing GI Bill educational benefits and payments.

Before the pandemic, student veterans taking at least one face-to-face class received a housing allowance of $1,598 per month, Bryant said, while those taking only online classes received significantly less.

The new law ensures student veterans get the full housing benefit, which is “phenomenal,” Bryant said. “That economically has helped.”

UNLV is also working to help students in the Nevada National Guard who were activated to help with the coronavirus response, Bryant said. Affected students have the option of taking a leave of absence and dropping their classes with no penalty.

Contact Julie Wootton-greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.