1-1 By: Turner S.B. No. 505
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 7, 1995; February 8, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
1-4 February 20, 1995, rereferred to Committee on Finance;
1-5 April 12, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-6 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 12, Nays 0; April 12, 1995,
1-7 sent to printer.)
1-8 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 505 By: Turner
1-9 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-10 AN ACT
1-11 relating to full tuition exemption and partial lodging and board
1-12 fees exemption for Texas National Guard/ROTC students.
1-13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
1-15 amended by adding Section 54.212 to read as follows:
1-16 Sec. 54.212. TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD/ROTC STUDENTS. (a) In
1-17 this section:
1-18 (1) "Exempt student" means an undergraduate student
1-19 who meets all the requirements of Subsections (d) and (f).
1-20 (2) "Exemption" means exemption from tuition fees and
1-21 lodging and board as described in Subsections (b) and (c).
1-22 (3) "ROTC institution" means an institution of higher
1-23 education, as defined by Section 61.003, that maintains a Reserve
1-24 Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).
1-25 (4) "Tuition fees" includes all dues, fees, and
1-26 enrollment charges whatsoever for which exemptions may be lawfully
1-27 made, including correspondence courses, general property deposit
1-28 fees, and student services fees, but does not include fees or
1-29 charges for lodging, board, or clothing.
1-30 (b)(1) The governing boards of ROTC institutions shall, for
1-31 a period not to exceed four years, exempt from the payment of
1-32 tuition fees a student selected by the ROTC institution's selection
1-33 committee to receive such exemption.
1-34 (2) Participating ROTC institutions shall receive
1-35 reimbursement for exempted tuition fees, lodging, and board charges
1-36 and fees from appropriations made by the legislature.
1-37 (c) A student selected to receive an exemption from tuition
1-38 fees shall be exempt from the ROTC institution's fees and charges
1-39 for lodging and board for the first two years of enrollment.
1-40 (d) A student who is selected to receive an exemption under
1-41 Subsections (b) and (c) shall be required to:
1-42 (1) be admitted to the institution's Reserve Officers'
1-43 Training Corps program or be a participant in such a program;
1-44 (2) become a member of the Texas Army National Guard
1-45 or the Texas Air National Guard and maintain satisfactory
1-46 performance as prescribed by the adjutant general's department as a
1-47 member in good standing during the term of their contractual
1-48 obligation;
1-49 (3) possess and maintain from the date of enrollment
1-50 through completion of the degree program the academic and personal
1-51 conduct standards established by each ROTC institution;
1-52 (4) maintain a minimum full-time enrollment of 12
1-53 credit hours each semester, including military science courses; and
1-54 (5) accept a commission in the Texas National Guard as
1-55 a second lieutenant on graduation from the ROTC institution and
1-56 serve no less than four years as a commissioned officer.
1-57 (e)(1) A maximum of 150 students shall be selected each
1-58 academic year to receive an exemption. The Texas Higher Education
1-59 Coordinating Board, after consultation with representatives of the
1-60 governing boards of ROTC institutions and the adjutant general,
1-61 shall formulate and prescribe a plan governing the selection of
1-62 students desiring to qualify for exemption under this section and
1-63 the allocation of the exemptions available to each ROTC
1-64 institution.
1-65 (2) The adjutant general and each participating ROTC
1-66 institution shall make special efforts to recruit students for the
1-67 program that reflect the state's ethnic, gender, and racial
1-68 diversity.
2-1 (3) The maximum number of exempt students for each
2-2 ROTC institution will be determined by the percentage of the
2-3 institution's Army and Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps
2-4 enrollment in relation to statewide Army and Air Force Reserve
2-5 Officers' Training Corps enrollment. Percentages shall be
2-6 calculated every odd-numbered year beginning September 1, 1995. In
2-7 the event an ROTC institution does not recruit its maximum
2-8 percentage of exempt students, the Texas Higher Education
2-9 Coordinating Board shall be informed by the ROTC institution of the
2-10 number of excess exemptions and shall allocate excess exemptions to
2-11 ROTC institutions which have attained maximum recruiting
2-12 percentages but have additional students who are qualified under
2-13 Subsection (f) to receive the exemption.
2-14 (f) Selection committees, consisting of three ROTC
2-15 institution representatives designated by the commissioner of
2-16 higher education, one of whom shall be a military science faculty
2-17 member and a commissioned officer of the Texas National Guard
2-18 appointed by the adjutant general, shall be established at ROTC
2-19 institutions to review applications of students who have applied
2-20 for the exemption and to determine which students qualify to
2-21 receive the exemption set forth in this section. Selection of
2-22 qualified students shall be based on the following factors:
2-23 (1) individual qualifications, with emphasis on the
2-24 leadership, communication, and organizational abilities and skills
2-25 required of commissioned officers;
2-26 (2) the financial need of the applicant;
2-27 (3) the state's ethnic, racial, and gender diversity;
2-28 and
2-29 (4) projected staffing requirements for the Texas
2-30 National Guard.
2-31 (g) Except in the case of an exempt student who is called
2-32 into active military service under Section 431.111, Government
2-33 Code, during the student's enrollment at an ROTC institution
2-34 exemption from tuition fees shall be limited to four years, and
2-35 exemption from lodging and board fees and charges shall be limited
2-36 to the first two years of enrollment at the institution.
2-37 Extensions of the exemption shall be granted for periods of active
2-38 military duty required of the student which occur during the
2-39 student's four-year exemption period.
2-40 (h)(1) In the event a student fails to maintain exempt
2-41 status as set forth in Subsection (d), the student shall be
2-42 required to:
2-43 (A) serve the remainder of the student's
2-44 contractual obligation as an enlisted member of the Texas National
2-45 Guard; or
2-46 (B) if unable or unwilling to fulfill the terms
2-47 of the contractual obligation, repay to the State of Texas the
2-48 amount of the exemption received for tuition fees, lodging, and
2-49 board charges and fees received by the student. Repayment must be
2-50 completed within five years after the date of the act or
2-51 circumstance that resulted in the student's ineligibility.
2-52 (2) The student's option shall be subject to approval
2-53 by the selection committee of the student's ROTC institution.
2-54 SECTION 2. The exemptions authorized under this Act shall be
2-55 available beginning with the 1996-1997 academic year.
2-56 SECTION 3. Implementation of the exemption program
2-57 authorized by this Act is contingent upon appropriations being made
2-58 by the legislature for the specified purposes of the program.
2-59 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-60 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-61 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-62 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-63 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-64 * * * * *