The National Association of State Approving Agencies (NASAA) helps make the GI Bill work. NASAA facilitates the efforts of its member State Approving Agencies (SAAs) in promoting and safeguarding quality education and training programs for veterans, ensuring greater education and training opportunities for veterans, and protecting the integrity of the GI Bill.
NASAA is made up of more than 50 state agencies nationwide that oversee education and training programs for veterans in their respective states. Most states have a single agency to evaluate, approve, and monitor education and training programs for use by GI Bill-eligible students. One state, Washington, has two separate SAAs for different types of training (schools vs. on-job, for example). SAAs provide assistance to schools and training facilities that are approved or are seeking approval. SAAs’ approval decisions are transmitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs so that VA can pay benefits when students enroll. SAAs play a major role in monitoring schools with approved programs to assure they continue to comply with state and federal law.
NASAA works hand-in-hand with other organizations to make the GI Bill the best possible educational assistance program for our nation’s veterans. NASAA members work with government agencies, Congress, schools, and employers to assure that veterans have access to well-managed, ethical programs they can trust to help them achieve their goals.

A Little History

State Approving Agencies were created during the early days of the World War II “GI Bill of Rights.” The United States Congress, recognizing that education is a function reserved to the States, decided that each State should create or designate an agency to determine which education and training programs were appropriate for veterans to enroll in and use their GI Bill education benefits. The law establishing the education benefits program requested each State’s Governor to designate such a State Approving Agency. Laws creating subsequent education benefits, like the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill, continued this request.

In 1948, the State Approving Agencies saw a need to coordinate their efforts nationwide and gathered to form the National Association of State Approving Agencies. Then, as of now, NASAA assisted states in their efforts to do a better job for veteran students and served as a tool to resolve mutual problems. NASAA and SAAs have been an outstanding example of the success of a State-Federal partnership that allows Federal interests to be pursued at the local level while preserving the identity, interests, and sovereignty of States’ rights in education. NASAA also has increased its influence in the realms of education and veterans benefits over the years, playing major roles in the creation of new programs, such as the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

The primary focus of the SAAs continues to be the review, evaluation, and approval of quality programs of education and training under State and Federal criteria. SAAs continue to conduct on-site technical assistance and compliance visits to approved institutions and to those seeking approval. SAAs engage in outreach activities to encourage wider use of the GI Bill, by veterans, other beneficiaries, schools, and employers. Many SAAs also act as state liaisons, helping military installations provide base personnel with quality educational offerings and information about education benefits.

Yet, while their fundamental role has remained the same, SAAs have evolved in response to the changes in our society over the years since World War II. SAAs and NASAA have become advocates for quality education and training for veterans and other eligible persons. They have become educational partners with the institutions themselves, facilitating even greater and more diverse educational opportunities for veterans. They have become strong advocates for the usage of the GI Bill and have developed a working partnership with the federal government which other federal agencies have tried to emulate.

With changing state and national priorities and a continuous re-examination of the function of government, as well as the evolving needs of our veterans, service members, and their families, state approving agencies stand ready to meet challenges head-on. Furthermore, in spite of the need for new approaches and technologies, differing styles of oversight, and enhanced criteria for performance, the fundamental reasons for which the SAAs were originally created remain as valid today as they were in the beginning.

FY27 Executive Board Members

David Salgado

NASAA President
(Texas SAA)

Everette Jackson, Jr.

NASAA Vice President
(Maryland SAA)

Ken Hanson, Ed.D.

Legislative Director
(Tennessee SAA)

Rebecca Ryan

Past President’s Council
(Rhode Island SAA)

James Henley

Public Affairs Liaison
(Missouri SAA)

Emily Butler

East Region Vice President
(Pennsylvania SAA)

Edward J. Godfrey, Ph.D.

Central Region Vice President
(Minnesota SAA)

Lily Snyder

South Region Vice President
(Georgia SAA)

Katherine Snyder

West Region Vice President
(New Mexico SAA)

Robert Kohutek

Staff Judge Advocate
(Utah SAA)

Anthony Whitesides

NASAA Treasurer
(Washington SAA)

Chris Kratochvil

Financial Secretary
(North Dakota SAA)

Tara Monk

NASAA Secretary
(Texas SAA)

Timeline

June 22, 1944
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, a.k.a “The GI Bill” into law. The unprecedented legislation gave veterans returning home from WWII access to unemployment compensation, low-interest home, and business loans, and, most importantly, funding for education.
1945
79th Congress passes Public Law 268 requiring individual state Governors to appoint a State Accrediting Agency. Each agency would be tasked with approving and monitoring institutions and establishments desiring to offer veterans’ on-the-job training programs. Over the next several years, the name would evolve into State Approving Agencies as they are known today.
January 1, 1947

The first contracts are signed between the federal government and the individual State Approval Agencies, marking the beginning of an important federal-state relationship that continues through the present day.

That same year, veterans attending school on the GI Bill comprise 49% of the nation’s higher education population.

September 20-22, 1948
The first National Conference of State Approval Agencies is held in Kansas City, MO. It is attended by SAAs from 26 states, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and representatives from the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs.
July 25, 1956
The first GI Bill comes to a close after benefiting 7.8 million participants, but SAA work continues.
1966
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act, extending benefits to veterans serving during times of war and peace. Individual state Governors are once again asked to designate an official approving agency to help oversee the benefits.
June 12, 1973
The National Association of State Approving Agencies is officially incorporated as a national organization. Its mission is to facilitate individual states’ efforts to promote and safeguard quality education and training programs for all Veterans and other eligible persons.
1982
Bernell C. Dickinson of North Carolina becomes the first female president of NASAA.
1984
Congress passes the Montgomery GI Bill, marking the first legislation to extend educational benefits to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve members.
2008
The Post 9/11 GI Bill completely revamps veterans’ educational benefits for the new century, providing more substantive benefits to the largest group of veterans in history. The SAAs take on a larger role than ever as well, serving as advisors to schools as they learn how to process the new benefits.
2011
Public Law 111-377 expands the Post 9/11 GI Bill to include the dependents and spouses of veterans as well as new types of training programs including non-college degree programs, apprenticeships, and flight training. It also changes state/federal approval authorities and designates the SAAs with the new role of conducting annual compliance surveys.
2017
Public Law 115-48, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, otherwise known as the “Forever GI Bill,” amends the Post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program, in part, removing certain time restrictions on program use; increasing assistance for reservists, guardsmen, dependents, and surviving spouses and dependents; providing full eligibility for Post-9/11 Purple Heart recipients and certain reservists and guardsmen; providing an extra academic years' worth of benefits for STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree candidates; establishing a five-year pilot program for high technology courses; and restoring eligibility for service members whose school closes in the middle of a semester.
2021
Public Law 116-315 the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 was enacted on January 5, 2021. The Act enhanced and expanded education benefits and programs for veterans, service members, families and survivors. This new law features 32 provisions that impact the administration and oversight of GI Bill benefits including new requirements for enrollment verification, expanded restoration of entitlement opportunities, the sunsetting of the Montgomery GI Bill, substantial changes to our oversight of GI Bill approved schools, and other education related issues.