Senate Bill 98 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Keith KelleySenator

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Military; graduate medical field courses added to educational benefits provided to eligible dependents of certain veterans, tuition cost limited

Summary

SB98 would expand Alabama's GI and Dependents Educational Benefit Act to cover graduate medical-field courses for eligible dependents of certain veterans, with tuition caps and phased implementation.

What This Bill Does

It adds graduate courses in a medical field to the eligible programs for dependent children, spouses, and widows of veterans who are deceased, disabled, missing in action, or a prisoner of war. It sets tuition limits: benefits would cover in-state tuition at qualifying state schools; for qualifying private schools, tuition reimbursement is capped at $400 per semester hour for tuition and $1,000 per semester for books and fees. It preserves time limits on training (generally five academic years/45 months) with initiation and completion windows that vary by beneficiary, and allows one change of program without counseling. It also introduces disability-based provisions for dependents of veterans with 40–90% service-connected disability, includes nonsubstantive technical updates to the code, and outlines phased implementation with graduate medical-field coverage starting in 2026 and the act taking full effect in 2028.

Who It Affects

• Eligible dependent children, spouses, and widows of veterans who are deceased, disabled, missing in action, or POW, who may now be eligible for graduate medical-field courses under the program with specified caps and time limits.
• Qualifying schools (state public colleges/universities and qualifying private schools) that administer the benefits and receive funding through tuition/fees reimbursements under the program.

Key Provisions

• Graduate medical-field courses become eligible under the educational benefits for dependents of certain veterans starting July 31, 2026.
• Tuition and fees limits differ by school type: in-state tuition for qualifying state schools; private schools capped at $400 per semester hour for tuition and $1,000 per semester for books/fees.
• Benefits retain existing caps on total training time (generally five academic years/45 months) with specific initiation/completion windows for children and spouses; one change of program allowed without counseling.
• Disability-based enhancements under which dependents of veterans with 40–90% service-connected disability have structured amounts and timeframes (e.g., up to 27 months for spouses/widows and up to 45 months for children) subject to defined rules.
• Nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update Alabama Code language to current style.
• Effective date: the act becomes effective January 1, 2028, with graduate medical-field coverage beginning July 31, 2026.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 12, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Military