Education Benefits for Spouses, Children and Survivors: DEA and Fry

You must be the spouse or child of:

• A service member who died in the line of duty.
• A veteran who died, or is permanently and totally disabled, from a service-connected disability.
• A veteran who died from any cause while a permanent and total service-connected disability existed.
• A service member missing in action, captured in the line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned by a foreign government.
• A service member hospitalized or in outpatient treatment for a service-connected permanent and total disability who is likely to be discharged for it.

• Months: up to 36 months. If benefits were used before August 1, 2018, up to 45 months.
• Training: associate, bachelor's, or graduate degrees; independent study; cooperative training; study abroad; business, technical, or vocational certificates; apprenticeships; on-the-job training; farm cooperative courses; and prep courses for college or graduate school entrance tests.
• Not eligible from August 1, 2026: secondary school (high school).
• Spouses only: correspondence courses, under certain conditions.
• Tutoring: available for a deficiency in a subject when enrolled half-time or more.
• Special restorative training: dependents over 14 with physical or mental disabilities can get specialized vocational or restorative training, such as speech correction, lip reading, auditory training, and Braille.

Otherwise:

• Spouses: 10 years from the date you became eligible or the date of the veteran's death. Spouses of service members who died on active duty have 20 years from the date of death (also for those whose 10-year period expired before December 10, 2004). VA may grant extensions.
• Children: generally ages 18 to 26. VA may grant extensions.
• Remarriage: a surviving spouse loses DEA by remarrying before age 57, or by living with someone publicly recognized as a spouse. Eligibility can come back if the remarriage ends by death or divorce, or the living arrangement ends. Children keep their eligibility if the surviving spouse remarries.

The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship gives Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to the children and surviving spouses of service members who died after September 10, 2001:

• In the line of duty while serving on active duty.
• In the line of duty as a member of the Selected Reserve while on duty other than active duty, such as active duty for training or inactive duty training (State Active Duty does not count).
• From a service-connected disability while a member of the Selected Reserve.
• From a service-connected disability within 120 days of discharge or release (a temporary expansion through October 1, 2027).

What it pays

Up to 36 months at the 100% level: full in-state tuition and fees at public schools (capped yearly at private and foreign schools), paid to the school, plus a monthly housing allowance and a books and supplies stipend paid to the student. Fry Scholars can also use the Yellow Ribbon Program and the STEM Scholarship.

Time limits

• Children: can start at 18, or earlier after finishing high school or a GED, and marriage does not affect eligibility. There is no time limit if the parent died on or after January 1, 2013, if the child turned 18 or finished high school or a GED on or after January 1, 2013, or if the parent's death falls under the Selected Reserve categories above. Otherwise, eligibility ends on the child's 33rd birthday.
• Surviving spouses: no deadline to use it.

• Apply online at va.gov/education/how-to-apply, at a VA regional office, or through the school's VA certifying official (usually in the registrar's or financial aid office).
• Education Call Center: 888-GI-BILL-1 (888-442-4551). From outside the U.S.: 001-918-781-5678 (not toll-free).
• Direct deposit is required, so have your bank routing and account numbers ready.
• Public schools must charge in-state tuition to students using DEA or Fry who live in that state, wherever their legal residence is.