In 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill into law. The legislation was meant to ensure that returning combat veterans would be able to afford an education.

The success of the 1944 GI Bill prompted the government to offer similar programs to later generations of veterans. These programs include the Veteran’s Adjustment Act of 1952, the Veteran’s Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966, the Veteran’s Educational Assistance Program, and the Montgomery GI Bill.

A new GI Bill was signed into law in June 2008. This new benefit will cover the full cost of education at any public school in the country and many private schools. The benefits under the new GI Bill will go into effect on August 1, 2009.

With the passage of a new GI Bill, an analysis of the current school enrollment and educational attainment of veterans is not only timely, but also relevant as a baseline for future studies of the impact of such legislation. This short visual essay—bar charts, maps, and text—will include comparisons of veterans and nonveterans as well as comparisons of male and female veterans.