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Senate Bill 297 |
Senate Author: Van de Putte et al. |
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Effective: 6-19-09 |
House Sponsor: Corte et al. |
Senate Bill 297 amends the Education Code to entitle a person to pay resident tuition and fees at Texas institutions of higher education without regard to the length of time the person has resided in Texas if the person is eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 or any other federal law authorizing education benefits for veterans or is the veteran's spouse or child, including a stepchild, who is 25 years of age or younger on the first day of the academic term. Additionally, the person must file a letter of intent to establish residency in Texas and must reside in Texas while enrolled in the institution. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board must, by rule, prescribe procedures by which a person who suffered from a severe illness or other debilitating condition that affected the person's ability to use the resident tuition and fees benefit before reaching 25 years of age may be granted additional time to use the benefit corresponding to the time the person was unable to use the benefit because of the illness or condition.
Senate Bill 297 requires the governing board of an institution of higher education to exempt from the payment of tuition a dependent child, including a stepchild, of a member of the United States armed forces who is a resident of Texas or is entitled to pay resident tuition, for any academic term during which the member of the armed forces is deployed on active combat duty outside the United States. The bill requires, in its appropriations to institutions of higher education, the legislature to provide sufficient funds to cover the full costs of the exemptions. The bill makes its provisions applicable beginning with tuition and fees for the 2009 fall semester.