885.
(a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall establish an education assistance program to provide housing and tuition assistance to disabled veterans attending graduate school in the State of California.(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall provide both of the following:
(1) Tuition assistance and a housing allowance to disabled veterans while they attend, in the state State of California, any graduate school at
the University of California, the California State University, or a private college that is primarily based in the state.
an independent institution of higher education, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66010 of the Education Code.
(2) A housing allowance to a disabled veteran in a graduate internship or fellowship program that earns credits toward a graduate degree.
(c) A veteran eligible for this section shall apply to the department in a manner prescribed by the department.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Disabled veteran” means a veteran of the United States Armed Services who meets the requirements for benefits under Chapter 31 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations and
who enlisted in California and returned to California after being honorably discharged from any branch of the military.
(2) “Housing allowance” means a monthly stipend equal to the monthly stipend described in Section 3313(c)(1)(B) of Title 38 of
the United States Code.
(3) “Tuition assistance” means an amount equal to the amount described in Section 3313(c)(1)(A) of Title 38 of the United States Code.
(e) A veteran who is eligible for education assistance pursuant to Part III of Title 38 of the United States Code shall not be eligible for benefits pursuant to this section until the person’s eligibility for federal education assistance has expired.
(f) The department shall, no later than January 1, 2021, develop regulations for the implementation of this article. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the application criteria, application process, data collection, accountability for program expenditures, and metrics for evaluation
of assistance provided.