By: Turner S.B. No. 505
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to full tuition exemption and partial lodging and board
1-2 fees exemption for Texas National Guard/ROTC students.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
1-5 amended by adding Section 54.212 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 54.212. TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD/ROTC STUDENTS. (a) In
1-7 this section:
1-8 (1) "Exempt student" means an undergraduate student
1-9 who meets all the requirements of Subsections (d) and (f).
1-10 (2) "Exemption" means exemption from tuition fees and
1-11 lodging and board as described in Subsections (b) and (c).
1-12 (3) "ROTC institution" means an institution of higher
1-13 education, as defined by Section 61.003, that maintains a Reserve
1-14 Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).
1-15 (4) "Tuition fees" includes all dues, fees, and
1-16 enrollment charges whatsoever for which exemptions may be lawfully
1-17 made, including correspondence courses, general property deposit
1-18 fees, and student services fees, but does not include fees or
1-19 charges for lodging, board, or clothing.
1-20 (b)(1) The governing boards of ROTC institutions shall, for
1-21 a period not to exceed four years, exempt from the payment of
1-22 tuition fees a student selected by the ROTC institution's selection
1-23 committee to receive such exemption.
2-1 (2) Participating ROTC institutions shall receive
2-2 reimbursement for exempted tuition fees, lodging, and board charges
2-3 and fees from appropriations made by the legislature.
2-4 (c) A student selected to receive an exemption from tuition
2-5 fees shall be exempt from the ROTC institution's fees and charges
2-6 for lodging and board for the first two years of enrollment.
2-7 (d) A student who is selected to receive an exemption under
2-8 Subsections (b) and (c) shall be required to:
2-9 (1) be admitted to the institution's Reserve Officers'
2-10 Training Corps program or be a participant in such a program;
2-11 (2) become a member of the Texas Army National Guard
2-12 or the Texas Air National Guard and maintain satisfactory
2-13 performance as prescribed by the adjutant general's department as a
2-14 member in good standing during the term of their contractual
2-15 obligation;
2-16 (3) possess and maintain from the date of enrollment
2-17 through completion of the degree program the academic and personal
2-18 conduct standards established by each ROTC institution;
2-19 (4) maintain a minimum full-time enrollment of 12
2-20 credit hours each semester, including military science courses; and
2-21 (5) accept a commission in the Texas National Guard as
2-22 a second lieutenant on graduation from the ROTC institution and
2-23 serve no less than four years as a commissioned officer.
2-24 (e)(1) A maximum of 150 students shall be selected each
2-25 academic year to receive an exemption. The Texas Higher Education
3-1 Coordinating Board, after consultation with representatives of the
3-2 governing boards of ROTC institutions and the adjutant general,
3-3 shall formulate and prescribe a plan governing the selection of
3-4 students desiring to qualify for exemption under this section and
3-5 the allocation of the exemptions available to each ROTC
3-6 institution.
3-7 (2) The adjutant general and each participating ROTC
3-8 institution shall make special efforts to recruit students for the
3-9 program that reflect the state's ethnic, gender, and racial
3-10 diversity.
3-11 (3) Each ROTC institution shall be allocated at least
3-12 two exempt students each academic year. The maximum number of
3-13 exempt students for each ROTC institution will be determined by the
3-14 percentage of the institution's Army and Air Force Reserve
3-15 Officers' Training Corps enrollment in relation to statewide Army
3-16 and Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps enrollment.
3-17 Percentages shall be calculated during the fall semester of every
3-18 odd-numbered year beginning September 1, 1995. In the event an
3-19 ROTC institution does not recruit its maximum percentage of exempt
3-20 students, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall be
3-21 informed by the ROTC institution of the number of excess exemptions
3-22 and shall allocate excess exemptions to ROTC institutions which
3-23 have attained maximum recruiting percentages but have additional
3-24 students who are qualified under Subsection (f) to receive the
3-25 exemption.
4-1 (f) Selection committees, consisting of three ROTC
4-2 institution representatives designated by the commissioner of
4-3 higher education, one of whom shall be a military science faculty
4-4 member and a commissioned officer of the Texas National Guard
4-5 appointed by the adjutant general, shall be established at ROTC
4-6 institutions to review applications of students who have applied
4-7 for the exemption and to determine which students qualify to
4-8 receive the exemption set forth in this section. Selection of
4-9 qualified students shall be based on the following factors:
4-10 (1) individual qualifications, with emphasis on the
4-11 leadership, communication, and organizational abilities and skills
4-12 required of commissioned officers;
4-13 (2) the financial need of the applicant;
4-14 (3) the state's ethnic, racial, and gender diversity;
4-15 and
4-16 (4) projected staffing requirements for the Texas
4-17 National Guard.
4-18 (g) Except in the case of an exempt student who is called
4-19 into active military service under Section 431.111, Government
4-20 Code, during the student's enrollment at an ROTC institution
4-21 exemption from tuition fees shall be limited to four years, and
4-22 exemption from lodging and board fees and charges shall be limited
4-23 to the first two years of enrollment at the institution.
4-24 Extensions of the exemption shall be granted for periods of active
4-25 military duty required of the student which occur during the
5-1 student's four-year exemption period.
5-2 (h)(1) In the event a student fails to maintain exempt
5-3 status as set forth in Subsection (d), the student shall be
5-4 required to:
5-5 (A) serve the remainder of the student's
5-6 contractual obligation as an enlisted member of the Texas National
5-7 Guard; or
5-8 (B) if unable or unwilling to fulfill the terms
5-9 of the contractual obligation, repay to the State of Texas the
5-10 amount of the exemption received for tuition fees, lodging, and
5-11 board charges and fees received by the student. Repayment must be
5-12 completed within five years after the date of the act or
5-13 circumstance that resulted in the student's ineligibility.
5-14 (2) The student's option shall be subject to approval
5-15 by the selection committee of the student's ROTC institution.
5-16 SECTION 2. The exemptions authorized under this Act shall be
5-17 available beginning with the 1996-1997 academic year.
5-18 SECTION 3. Implementation of the exemption program
5-19 authorized by this Act is contingent upon appropriations being made
5-20 by the legislature for the specified purposes of the program.
5-21 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.