By: Springer S.B. No. 567
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to Firefighters Enrolled in Fire Science Courses
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sec 54.353, Education Code, is amended to read as
  follows: (a) The governing board of an institution of higher
  education shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory
  fees any student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of
  a fire science curriculum who:
         (1)  is employed as a firefighter by a political subdivision
  of this state; or
         (2)  a member in good standing in a volunteer firefighter
  department, registered with Texas Forest Service and providing 911
  service to a designated area:is currently, and has been for at
  least one year, an active member of an organized volunteer fire
  department participating in the Texas Emergency Services
  Retirement System or a retirement system established under the
  Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (Article 6243e, Vernon's
  Texas Civil Statutes) and who holds:
                  (i)  attends at least 20 hours of annual training;
                  (ii)  attends or provides support services for at
  least 25 percent of the departments emergencies in a calendar
  year; and 
                  (iii)  and who holds:
               (A)  an Accredited Advanced level of certification, or
  an equivalent successor certification, under the State
  Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas volunteer
  certification program; or
                  (B)  Phase V (Firefighter II) certification, or an
  equivalent successor certification, under the Texas
  Commission on Fire Protection's voluntary certification
  program under Section 419.071, Government Code.
         (b)  An exemption provided under this section does not apply
  to deposits that may be required in the nature of security for the
  return or proper care of property loaned for the use of students.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who for a
  semester or term at an institution of higher education receives an
  exemption under this section may continue to receive the exemption
  for a subsequent semester or term at any institution only if the
  student makes satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or
  certificate at that institution as determined by the institution
  for purposes of financial aid.
         (d)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
  under this section does not apply to any amount of additional
  tuition the institution elects to charge a resident undergraduate
  student under Section 54.014(a) or (f).
         (e)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
  under this section does not apply to any amount of tuition the
  institution charges a graduate student in excess of the amount of
  tuition charged to similarly situated graduate students because the
  student has a number of semester credit hours of doctoral work in
  excess of the applicable number provided by Section 61.059(l)(1) or
  (2).
         (f)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  adopt:
               (1)  rules governing the granting or denial of an
  exemption under this section, including rules relating to the
  determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption;
  and
               (2)  a uniform listing of degree programs covered by
  the exemption under this section.
  SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023