H.B. No. 269
AN ACT
relating to course credit for certain students at a public
institution of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.3042 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.3042. AWARD OF COURSE CREDIT FOR MILITARY SERVICE.
(a) In this section, "institution of higher education" has the
meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) An institution of higher education shall award to an
undergraduate student who is admitted to the institution, including
a student who is readmitted under Section 51.9242, course credit
for all physical education courses required by the institution for
an undergraduate degree and for additional semester credit hours,
not to exceed 12, that may be applied to satisfy any elective course
requirements for the student's degree program for courses outside
the student's major or minor if the student:
(1) graduated from a public or private high school
accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization or
from a high school operated by the United States Department of
Defense; and
(2) is an honorably discharged former member of the
armed forces of the United States who:
(A) completed at least two years of service in
the armed forces; or
(B) was discharged because of a disability.
(c) This section does not prohibit an institution of higher
education from awarding additional course credit for a student's
military service as the institution considers appropriate.
(d) An institution of higher education may adopt rules
requiring reasonable proof from a student of the fact and duration
of the student's military service and of the student's military
discharge status.
SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.9112 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.9112. RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS (ROTC)
PROGRAM: FEES AND COURSE CREDIT. (a) The Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, in consultation with institutions of higher
education, shall determine a standard fee for a course offered
through a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program that
takes into account the average statewide cost per student to an
institution of higher education in providing the program, not
including any reimbursement or other amounts the institution
receives from the applicable military service or other source for
offering the course. Except as provided by Subsection (b), the
governing board of each institution of higher education may not
charge a student enrolled in an ROTC course any amount for the
course in excess of the fee as determined by the coordinating board
under this subsection.
(b) If the governing board of an institution of higher
education offers course credit toward a student's degree for a
course in which the student enrolls for the purposes of an ROTC
program, the governing board may charge the student tuition for
that course as otherwise provided by Chapter 54 after subtracting
any reimbursement or other amount the institution receives from the
applicable military service or other source for offering the
course.
(c) To the extent it will not adversely affect the
accreditation status of an institution of higher education with the
appropriate accrediting agency, the governing board of the
institution shall count courses in which a student enrolls for the
purposes of an ROTC program, including courses for which the
student does not receive course credit toward the student's degree,
in determining whether the student is enrolled as a full-time
student.
SECTION 3. Section 51.3042, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies to a student attending an institution of higher
education, without regard to whether the student was admitted to
the institution before the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. 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, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 269 was passed by the House on May 12,
2009, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 269 on May 29, 2009, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 269 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 139,
Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 269 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
1; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
269 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor