Priority of service is to be provided to all veterans and eligible spouses. Veterans and eligible spouses are given priority over non-covered persons for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services. A veteran or an eligible spouse either receives access to a service earlier in time than a non-covered person or, if the resource is limited, the veteran or eligible spouse receives access to the service instead of or before the non-covered person.
Priority of service for Classroom Training services and Workshop services applies to the selection procedure, as follows:

• First, if there is a waiting list for the formation of a training class, priority of service is intended to require a veteran or eligible spouse to go to the top of that list.
• Second, priority of service applies up to the point at which an individual is both approved for funding and accepted or enrolled in a training class. Therefore, once a non- covered person has been approved for funding and accepted/enrolled in a training class, priority of service is not intended to allow a veteran or eligible spouse who is identified subsequently to “bump” the non-covered person from that training class.

Eligibility
Veteran/Covered Person: A person who served active duty and was discharged or released with any status but dishonorable. This definition includes Federal activation of a Reserve Component, other than active duty for training.

1. Active duty: Full-time duty in the United States Armed Forces, other than active duty for training.
2. Armed Forces: The United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, including their Reserve Component.
3. Active Duty for Training: Full-time duty in the Armed Forces performed by a Reserve Component (i.e. basic training, military job training, drill weekends, annual two-week drill, etc.)
4. Reserve Component: Generally, perform a minimum of 39 days of active duty for training annually and are also referred to as the Guard or Reserves:
   
   • The Army Reserve
   • The Navy Reserve
   • The Marine Corps Reserve
   • The Air Force Reserve
   • The Coast Guard Reserve
   • The Army National Guard
   • The Air National Guard
5. Eligible Spouse (must meet one qualification):
   1. A spouse of any veteran who died of a service‐connected disability.
   2. A spouse of any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of application for the priority, is listed in one or more of the following categories and has been so listed for a total of more than 90 days:
      1. Missing in action
      2. Captured in the line of duty by a hostile force
      3. Forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power
      4. Forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power
      5. A spouse of any veteran who has a total disability resulting from a service‐connected disability, as evaluated by the Department of Veterans Affairs
      6. A spouse of any veteran who died while a disability was in existence

Procedure for Identification of Veterans at intake
Procedures are to be in place to identify veterans at Intake.  When a veteran, or eligible spouse, undergoes eligibility determination for enrollment. If a veteran or an eligible spouse, at the point of eligibility determination and enrollment, does not have documentation verifying his/her eligibility for priority of service, he/she is to be afforded access on a priority basis to all services provided by program staff (including intensive services) while awaiting verification. The only services that require prior verification of eligibility for priority of service are those that require a commitment of outside resources, such as classroom training.

Veteran's Priority of Service defintions
The service definiations outlined above are based on the resource documents, WIOA Sec §134(c)(3)(E) - Priority for WIOA Ad, WIOA §680.600 - Priority and Special Populations ,TEGL 19-16 - WIOA Ad / DW Guidance, A 12-12.4 Veterans' Priority of Service, and NY State Plan. The document provided guidance to front-line and affected staff. We include it here for your reference.

An individual who self-identifies as a “veteran” or “spouse of a veteran” may qualify for One-Stop Priority of Service based on the following definitions. Please familiarize yourself with the stated definitions as indicated below.

1. Priority of Service: Priority of service means (with respect to any qualified job training program) that a covered person shall be given priority over a non-covered person for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services provided under that program. Priority in the context of providing priority of service to veterans and other covered persons means the right to take precedence over non-covered persons in obtaining services. Taking precedence may mean; (1) the covered person receives access to the service or resource earlier in time than the non-covered person, or (2) if the service or resource is limited, the covered person receives access to the service or resource instead of or before the non-covered person.
   
   
2. Covered Person: As defined in the Final Rule, a covered person means a veteran or eligible spouse of a veteran.
   
   
3. Veteran: A veteran for purposes of priority of service is defined as “a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released there from under conditions other than dishonorable.” Active service includes full-time duty in the National Guard or a Reserve component, other than full-time duty for training purposes.
   
   
4. Eligible Veteran: The statutory reporting requirements for Wagner-Peyser and Veteran Grants require application of a more narrowly defined definition of eligible veteran. Under Title 38, United States Code Section 4211, the term “eligible veteran” means a person who meets any of the following:
   1. Served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days and was discharged or released therefrom with other than a dishonorable discharge Was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability
   2. As a member of a reserve component under an order to active duty, served on active duty during a period or war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized and was discharged or released from such duty with other than a dishonorable discharge
      
      
5. Eligible Spouse: An individual may identify as a spouse of a veteran and qualify for priority of service. The term “eligible spouse” means a person who meets any of the following:
   1. The spouse of any person who died of a service-connected disability
   2. The spouse of any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of application for the priority, is listed in one or more of the following categories and has been so listed for a total of more than 90 days"
      • Missing in action
      • Captured in line of duty by a hostile force
      • Forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government
        or power
   3. The spouse of any person who has a total disability permanent in nature resulting from a service-connected disability
   4. The spouse of a veteran who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence
      
      
6. Qualified Job Training Program: Priority of service applies to any program or service for workforce preparation, development, or delivery that is directly funded, in whole or in part, by the USDOL (see Attachment C). The USDOL does not have the authority to impose priority of service on programs funded by non-USDOL sources. However, NYSDOL encourages all partners of One-Stop Centers to focus on providing services to veterans as a standard operating procedure within their respective service delivery strategies.