Extend educational options to veterans and military personnel (Rep. Joe Sestak)

This week, I have introduced legislation that would allow all currently-enlisted service personnel to count training courses from the military as credit for equivalent coursework at schools across the country.

The Armed Forces Education Parity Act would allow enlisted members of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard to participate in higher education programs at the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), which is the only program that is currently federally accredited to award an associate degree in exchange for the successful completion of a student’s military training.  Since it issued its first degree in 1977, the CCAF has awarded more than 308,000 associate degrees in the applied sciences. The school is the largest multi-campus community colleges in the world, having partnered with 90 Air Force affiliated schools, 82 Education Services Offices globally, and more than 1,500 civilian academic institutions, to serve over 335,000 registered students.

I believe our Nation must enhance its commitment to technical education programs so that we can offer as many opportunities as possible to our service members in these difficult times. The credits that are acquired through the CCAF can be used for an associate degree in the applied sciences or transferred to a four year institution since the CCAF, unlike most other trade schools, is regionally accredited.  

This Act is a part of my larger mission to extend more educational options to veterans and military personnel as the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to the U.S. Congress.  This week, I also introduced a bill to expand the Post 9/11 GI Bill to cover programs at trade and career technical schools. 

Rep. Sestak is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.