Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB567 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Springer S.B. No. 567
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed January 23, 2023; February 17, 2023,
3	3	read first time and referred to Subcommittee on Higher Education;
4	4	April 17, 2023, reported favorably from Committee on Education by
5	5	the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; April 17, 2023, sent to
6	6	printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to firefighters enrolled in fire science courses.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 54.353, Education Code, is amended to
15	15	read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 54.353. FIREFIGHTERS ENROLLED IN FIRE SCIENCE
17	17	COURSES. (a) The governing board of an institution of higher
18	18	education shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory
19	19	fees any student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of
20	20	a fire science curriculum who:
21	21	(1) is employed as a firefighter by a political
22	22	subdivision of this state; or
23	23	(2) is a member in good standing in a volunteer
24	24	firefighter department, registered with Texas Forest Service and
25	25	providing 911 service to a designated area [is currently, and has
26	26	been for at least one year, an active member of an organized
27	27	volunteer fire department participating in the Texas Emergency
28	28	Services Retirement System or a retirement system established under
29	29	the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (Article 6243e,
30	30	Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)] and who: [holds:]
31	31	(A) attends at least 20 hours of annual training;
32	32	(B) attends or provides support services for at
33	33	least 25 percent of the department's emergencies in a calendar
34	34	year; and
35	35	(C) holds:
36	36	(i) [(A)] an Accredited Advanced level of
37	37	certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the
38	38	State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas volunteer
39	39	certification program; or
40	40	(ii) [(B)] Phase V (Firefighter II)
41	41	certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the
42	42	Texas Commission on Fire Protection's voluntary certification
43	43	program under Section 419.071, Government Code.
44	44	(b) An exemption provided under this section does not apply
45	45	to deposits that may be required in the nature of security for the
46	46	return or proper care of property loaned for the use of students.
47	47	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who for a
48	48	semester or term at an institution of higher education receives an
49	49	exemption under this section may continue to receive the exemption
50	50	for a subsequent semester or term at any institution only if the
51	51	student makes satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or
52	52	certificate at that institution as determined by the institution
53	53	for purposes of financial aid.
54	54	(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
55	55	under this section does not apply to any amount of additional
56	56	tuition the institution elects to charge a resident undergraduate
57	57	student under Section 54.014(a) or (f).
58	58	(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
59	59	under this section does not apply to any amount of tuition the
60	60	institution charges a graduate student in excess of the amount of
61	61	tuition charged to similarly situated graduate students because the
62	62	student has a number of semester credit hours of doctoral work in
63	63	excess of the applicable number provided by Section 61.059(l)(1) or
64	64	(2).
65	65	(f) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
66	66	adopt:
67	67	(1) rules governing the granting or denial of an
68	68	exemption under this section, including rules relating to the
69	69	determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption; and
70	70	(2) a uniform listing of degree programs covered by
71	71	the exemption under this section.
72	72	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
73	73	* * * * *