12 2 STA T .4 4 68PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 41 7—O CT. 14 , 2008 Secr e ta r ym ay p ay su c h am o u n ts as the Secretary cons id ers necessary to ensure f airness and e q uity w ith re g ard to the request .(b)EXCEPTION TO PAYM ENT L IMIT S . —A payment under sub - section (a)( 2 ) may be made without regard to any l imits on the total combined amounts established for the Army C ollege F und and the M ontgomery G . I . B ill. (c) F U N D IN G SOU R CE.—Payments under subsection (a)(2) shall be made solely from funds appropriated for military personnel pro- grams for fiscal year 2 0 0 9 . (d) T ERMINATION D ATE.— N o payment may be made under sub- section (a)(2) after December 31, 2009. SEC.5 5 0 . E NHA NC I N G E DU CA T I O N P A R TNERSHIPS TO I M PRO V E ACCESSI B I L IT Y AND F LE X IBILITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. (a) AUT H ORITY.—The Secretary of a military department may enter into one or more education partnership agreements with educational institutions in the U nited States for the purpose of— (1) de v eloping plans to improve the accessibility and fle x i- bility of college courses available to eligible members of the Armed Forces
(2) improving the application process for the Armed Forces tuition assistance programs and raising awareness regarding educational opportunities available to such members; (3) developing curriculum, distance education programs, and career counseling designed to meet the professional, finan- cial, academic, and social needs of such members; and ( 4 ) assessing how resources may be applied more effectively to meet the educational needs of such members. (b) COST.—Except as provided in this section, execution of an education partnership agreement with an educational institution shall be at no cost to the Government. (c) EDUCATIONA L INSTITUTION DE F INED.—In this section, the term ‘ ‘educational institution ’ ’ means an accredited college, univer- sity, or technical school in the United States. Subti t leF—D e f e ns eDe p en d ents ’E du ca ti o n SEC. 55 1 . CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY TO ASSIST LOCAL EDU - CATIONAL AGENCIES THAT BENEFIT DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES. (a) ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS W ITH SIGNIFICANT NUM B ERS OF MILITARY DEPENDENT STUDENTS.— O f the amount authori z ed to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 pursuant to section 301( 5 ) for operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities, $ 35,000,000 shall be available only for the purpose of providing assistance to local educational agencies under subsection (a) of section 5 7 2 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Y ear 200 6 (Public Law 109 – 163; 119 Stat. 3271; 20 U.S.C. 7703b). (b) ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS WITH ENROLLMENT CHANGES DUE TO BASE CLOSURES, FORCE STRUCTURE CHANGES, OR FORCE R ELOCATIONS.—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for
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