By: Van de Putte, Uresti, Shapleigh S.B. No. 309
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the requirement that a career school or college adopt a
  refund policy for students called to active military service.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 132, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 132.0611 to read as follows:
         Sec. 132.0611.  REFUND POLICY FOR STUDENTS CALLED TO ACTIVE
  MILITARY SERVICE.  As a condition to receiving a certificate of
  approval under this chapter, including a renewal of a certificate
  of approval, a career school or college must maintain, and include
  in the school or college's catalogue and enrollment contract, a
  policy under which a student of the school or college who withdraws
  from the school or college as a result of the student being called
  to active duty in a military service of the United States or the
  Texas National Guard may elect one of the following options for each
  program in which the student is enrolled:
               (1)  if tuition and fees are collected in advance of the
  withdrawal, a pro rata refund of any tuition, fees, or other charges
  paid by the student for the program and a cancellation of any unpaid
  tuition, fees, or other charges owed by the student for the portion
  of the program the student does not complete following withdrawal;
               (2)  a grade of incomplete with the designation
  "withdrawn-military" for the courses in the program, other than
  courses for which the student has previously received a grade on the
  student's transcript, and the right to re-enroll in the program, or
  a substantially equivalent program if that program is no longer
  available, not later than the first anniversary of the date the
  student is discharged from active military duty without payment of
  additional tuition, fees, or other charges for the program other
  than any previously unpaid balance of the original tuition, fees,
  and charges for books for the program; or
               (3)  the assignment of an appropriate final grade or
  credit for the courses in the program, but only if the instructor or
  instructors of the program determine that the student has:
                     (A)  satisfactorily completed at least 90 percent
  of the required coursework for the program; and
                     (B)  demonstrated sufficient mastery of the
  program material to receive credit for completing the program.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 132.055, Education Code,
  is amended by adding Subdivision (19) to read as follows:
               (19)  The school or college maintains a policy
  regarding students called to active military service that meets the
  requirements prescribed by Section 132.0611.
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (a), Section 132.201, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Certificate and registration fees, except those charged
  pursuant to Subsection (d), shall be collected by the commission.
  Each fee shall be in an amount set by the commission in an amount not
  to exceed 150 percent of each fee in the following schedule:
               (1)  the initial fee for a career school or college:
                     (A)  for a certificate of approval is $2,000; or
                     (B)  for a small career school or college
  certificate of approval is $1,000;
               (2)  the first renewal fee and each subsequent renewal
  fee for a career school or college is the greater of:
                     (A)  an amount that is determined by applying a
  percentage, not to exceed 0.3 percent, to the gross tuition and
  fees, excluding refunds as provided by Section 132.061 or 132.0611,
  of the school or college; or
                     (B)  $500;
               (3)  the initial registration fee for a representative
  is $60;
               (4)  the annual renewal fee for a representative is
  $30;
               (5)  the fee for a change of a name of a career school or
  college or owner is $100;
               (6)  the fee for a change of an address of a career
  school or college is $180;
               (7)  the fee for a change in the name or address of a
  representative or a change in the name or address of a career school
  or college that causes the reissuance of a representative permit is
  $10;
               (8)  the application fee for an additional program is
  $150, except for seminars and workshops, for which the fee is $25;
               (9)  the application fee for a director, administrative
  staff member, or instructor is $15;
               (10)  the application fee for the authority to grant
  degrees is $2,000;
               (11)  the application fee for an additional degree
  program is $250; and
               (12)  the fee for an inspection required by commission
  rule of classroom facilities that are separate from the main campus
  is $250.
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (b), Section 132.2415, Education
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission may collect annually a fee from each
  career school or college to be deposited to the credit of the career
  school or college tuition trust account. The total amount of the
  fees collected in a year shall be set by the commission in the
  amount estimated as necessary to pay the liabilities of the trust
  account during that year, not to exceed 0.2 percent of the gross
  amount of tuition and fees charged by career schools and colleges in
  that year, excluding amounts refunded under Section 132.061 or
  132.0611.
         SECTION 5.  Section 132.0611, Education Code, as added by
  this Act, applies to a career school or college operating under a
  certificate of approval issued under Chapter 132, Education Code,
  beginning on the earlier of the following dates:
               (1)  November 1, 2007; or
               (2)  the earliest date on which the certificate of
  approval is issued or renewed that occurs on or after the effective
  date of this Act.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.