78R3071 KSD-D


By:  Haggerty                                                     H.B. No. 564



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an exemption for certain military personnel and 
veterans from the requirements of the Texas Academic Skills 
Program.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 51.306(r), Education Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	(r)  This section does not apply to:                                           
		(1)  a student who accumulated three or more 
college-level semester credit hours prior to the 1989 fall 
semester;
		(2)  a student located outside this state who enrolls 
in a course offered outside this state by an institution of higher 
education;
		(3)  a deaf student;                                                          
		(4)  a student who has graduated with a baccalaureate 
degree from an institution of higher education, an accredited 
private or independent institution of higher education, or an 
accredited out-of-state institution of higher education;
		(5)  a student enrolled in a certificate program at a 
community or technical college of one year or less;
		(6)  a student who is a citizen of a country other than 
the United States and is not seeking a degree;  [or]
		(7)  a student who is serving on active duty as a member 
of:         
			(A)  the armed forces of the United States; or                 
			(B)  the Texas National Guard;                                        
		(8)  a student who is currently serving as and, for at 
least the three-year period preceding enrollment, has served as a 
member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United 
States; or
		(9)  a student who on or after August 1, 1990, was 
honorably discharged, retired, or released from:
			(A)  active duty as a member of the armed forces of 
the United States or the Texas National Guard; or
			(B)  service as a member of a reserve component of 
the armed forces of the United States.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to a student who enrolls at a public institution of higher education 
for a semester or summer session that begins on or after the 
effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.