Senate Passes Critical Funding for Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship
Raleigh, N.C. — Today, the N.C. Senate gave final approval to House Bill 696, which allocates critical funding for the Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship. This new infusion of funds follows years of departmental mismanagement that led to shortfalls in funding, putting hundreds of students at risk of not receiving their scholarships.
The additional funding includes $1 million nonrecurring to cover the remainder of the 2025-26 school year scholarship awards for students receiving the Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship, and $10 million recurring. Awards for current scholarship recipients had been prorated, with each school holding the students harmless until this money could be appropriated.
With the new funding, there will be nearly $24 million available for scholarships to meet current and projected needs.
The bill extends certain existing flexibilities for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority for fiscal year 2026-27 and allows them to temporarily increase the cap on scholarships awarded to Class II and Class III students from 100 to 200.
“The mismanagement of the scholarship funding by prior DMVA administrations is disappointing, and we are remedying their actions for the sake of the students,” Sen. Bob Brinson (R-Craven) said. “This additional funding will help bridge the gap created for the rest of the school year and set up current and future Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship recipients for success.”
Sen. Carl Ford (R-Rowan) said, “The Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship is integral in honoring our veterans and their families for years of service and sacrifice. Our service men and women from North Carolina put their lives on the line to protect us, and this scholarship is our way of giving back.”
Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Moore) said, “Pouring back into student success through the Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship is nonnegotiable, so I am thankful we found a solution. The importance of this scholarship should never be overlooked, and I am encouraged by the assistance SEAA is willing to provide to avoid future mismanagement of funding.”
Beyond the funding for the Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship, the bill also included $319 million to fund the state’s traditional Medicaid program and implement commonsense measures to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in order to rein in costs.
The bill also includes provisions to:
Implement federally required work requirements and six-month redeterminations for current Medicaid expansion beneficiaries and applicants
Limit the use of self-attestation as the sole evidence of eligibility for Medicaid or SNAP
Prevent illegal aliens from receiving benefits, ensuring taxpayer dollars are only helping eligible North Carolinians
Fund a performance audit of the North Carolina Medicaid program and the NCWorks Career Centers
Provide tools for managed care organizations to more effectively manage beneficiary care by addressing fraud, implementing utilization management, and improving the overall quality of care
Direct the DHHS to develop a plan to achieve further cost savings and efficiency measures in the Medicaid program
Strengthen protections for children with autism spectrum disorder receiving Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy on Medicaid
Require providers to ensure high-quality standards and appropriate services for youth in our state by adding guardrails on who can provide these services and how they are delivered. It also ensures each beneficiary has an individualized care plan that includes parental involvement.
