ENROLLED
ACT No. 232
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 485
BY REPRESENTATIVES HENRY BURNS, ADAMS, ARMES, BADON, BARROW,
BERTHELOT, BILLIOT, STUART BISHOP, WESLEY BISHOP, BOUIE,
BROADWATER, BURFORD, CARMODY, CARTER, CHANEY, COX,
EDWARDS, GISCLAIR, HALL, HENRY, HILL, HODGES, HOLLIS, HONORE,
HOWARD, JEFFERSON, ROBERT JOHNSON, KLECKLEY, NANCY LANDRY,
LEGER, LEOPOLD, LORUSSO, MIGUEZ, JAY MORRIS, NORTON, ORTEGO,
OURSO, PRICE, REYNOLDS, RICHARD, SCHEXNAYDER, SHADOIN,
SMITH, ST. GERMAIN, TALBOT, AND WHITNEY AND SENATORS ADLEY,
ALARIO, APPEL, BROOME, BROWN, BUFFINGTON, CORTEZ, CROWE,
DONAHUE, ERDEY, GUILLORY, JOHNS, KOSTELKA, LAFLEUR, LONG,
MILLS, MURRAY, NEVERS, PEACOCK, GARY SMITH, JOHN SMITH,
TARVER, AND WHITE
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 17:3138.5, relative to public postsecondary education institutions; to require
3 the Board of Regents to establish a process for designating an institution as a
4 "Governor's Military and Veteran Friendly Campus"; to provide for such designation
5 by the governor based on information submitted by the Board of Regents; to provide
6 eligibility criteria; to provide application procedures including required reporting;
7 to provide for definitions; to provide for legislative findings; and to provide for
8 related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 17:3138.5 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 ยง3138.5. Military and veteran friendly campus; designation; process; eligibility;
12 applications
13 A.(1) The legislature finds that military veterans need comprehensive,
14 statewide support to aid them in transition from military service to enrollment in
15 public postsecondary education institutions. This support should encourage such
16 enrollment of veterans and address issues that may deter their participation in public
17 postsecondary education. These issues include but are not limited to affordability,
18 lack of awareness by postsecondary faculty and staff of veterans' culture, the need
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1 for orientation and mentoring programs designed specifically for veterans, and the
2 facilitation of credit completion by veterans as efficiently and quickly as possible.
3 (2) The purpose of this Section is to provide formal recognition by the
4 governor of state public postsecondary education institutions that successfully create
5 a supportive environment for military veterans.
6 B.(1) The Board of Regents shall establish a process for a public
7 postsecondary education institution to be designated as a "Governor's Military and
8 Veteran Friendly Campus" beginning with the Fall 2015 semester.
9 (2) To be eligible to receive the designation as specified in Paragraph (1) of
10 this Subsection, an institution shall meet all of the following criteria:
11 (a) Adopt and fully implement the military articulation and transfer process
12 as provided in R.S. 17:3165.2.
13 (b) Offer waivers from application fees to veterans.
14 (c) Offer specialized orientation programs for veterans that provide detailed
15 information on the programs, services, and accommodations available.
16 (d) Adopt deployment and readmission policies that provide for the prompt
17 readmission to the institution of veterans with the same academic status that they had
18 when last attending or accepted for admission at the institution.
19 (e) Offer priority class scheduling to veterans that is at least as early as that
20 offered to students enrolled in the honors college, athletes, students with disabilities,
21 and spring invitational program participants, whichever occurs first. If the institution
22 does not offer priority scheduling to any of these groups, the institution shall allow
23 veterans to schedule classes at least one day prior to the general class registration for
24 undergraduate students.
25 C. In addition to the eligibility criteria required in Paragraph (B)(2) of this
26 Section, an institution shall meet at least three of the following criteria in order to
27 receive the designation specified in Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section:
28 (1) Offer at least one course per fall and spring semester in history, political
29 science, English, or mathematics that is specifically designed for and exclusively
30 available to veterans or offer a course for credit that is specifically designed for and
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1 exclusively available to veterans and that focuses on introducing them to the college
2 experience and covers issues of transition, leveraging benefits, and disability issues.
3 (2) Offer free tutoring to veterans.
4 (3) Host a workshop at least twice each year for veterans to provide
5 instruction regarding career opportunities, interviewing skills, resume writing, and
6 networking.
7 (4) Host a Reserve Officers' Training Corps program affiliated with a branch
8 of the armed services.
9 D.(1) The Board of Regents shall develop an application process, including
10 time lines for submitting applications, for institutions that are interested in receiving
11 the designation specified in Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section.
12 (2) The Board of Regents shall review each application and shall submit such
13 applications to the governor along with a written report that indicates if an institution
14 meets the requirements specified in Subsections B and C of this Section to receive
15 the initial designation by the governor.
16 (3) Designation of an institution as a "Governor's Military and Veteran
17 Friendly Campus" shall apply for one year.
18 (4) After receiving the initial designation by the governor, an institution
19 annually shall submit a renewal application to the Board of Regents in accordance
20 with the time lines established by the board. Each renewal application shall include
21 a report that contains all of the following information from the previous year as it
22 relates to veterans:
23 (a) The number granted application fee waivers.
24 (b) The number who attended the specialized orientation program and a
25 description of the orientation program.
26 (c) The number who participated in the priority class registration.
27 (d) The number who benefitted from the military articulation and transfer
28 process as provided in R.S. 17:3165.2, the number of credits hours accepted through
29 the transfer process, and a list of the courses credited through the transfer process.
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1 (5) If the Board of Regents determines that the institution meets the
2 requirements specified in Subsections B and C of this Section based on its renewal
3 application, the institution shall receive the designation for that year. If the Board
4 of Regents determines that an institution does not meet the specified requirements,
5 the board shall provide written notice to the institution and the institution shall have
6 forty-five days from receipt of the notice to correct or amend its renewal application.
7 If the institution does not submit a corrected or amended application or if the
8 corrected or amended application does not meet the requirements as determined by
9 the board, the institution shall not receive the designation for that year.
10 E. For purposes of this Section, "veteran" shall have the meaning as provided
11 in R.S. 13:5364.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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