Texas Education Code - Section 54.203. Veterans, Dependents, Etc.
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§ 54.203. VETERANS, DEPENDENTS, ETC.. (a) The governing
board of each institution of higher education shall exempt the
following persons from the payment of all dues, fees, and charges,
including fees for correspondence courses but excluding property
deposit fees, student services fees, and any fees or charges for
lodging, board, or clothing, provided the persons seeking the
exemptions were citizens of Texas at the time they entered the
services indicated and have resided in Texas for at least the period
of 12 months before the date of registration:
(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
armed forces of the United States who served during the
Spanish-American War or during World War I;
(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
of the United States who served during World War II except those who
were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
because of a personal request on the part of the person that he be
discharged from service;
(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
armed forces of the United States who served during the national
emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
the Korean War; and
(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
portion of their active duty during:
(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3) of
this subsection;
(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
(G) any future national emergency declared in
accordance with federal law.
(b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) of this
section also apply and inure to the benefit of the children of
members of the armed forces of the United States who are or were
killed in action, who die or died while in service, who are missing
in action, or whose death is documented to be directly caused by
illness or injury connected with service in the armed forces of the
United States, and to the benefit of orphans of members of the Texas
National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard killed since
January 1, 1946, while on active duty either in the service of their
state or the United States. However, to qualify for this exemption
a person must be a citizen of Texas and must have resided in the
state for at least 12 months immediately preceding the date of the
person's registration.
(c) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) of this
section shall not exceed a cumulative total of 150 credit hours.
(d) The governing board of each institution of higher
education granting exemptions shall require every applicant
claiming the benefit of an exemption to submit satisfactory
evidence that he fulfills the necessary citizenship and residency
requirements.
(e) The exemption from fees provided for in Subsection (a)
of this section does not apply to a person if at the time of his
registration he is eligible for educational benefits under federal
legislation in effect at the time of his registration if the value
of those benefits is equal to or exceeds the value of the exemption,
except that the person must first utilize the federal benefit for
which he is eligible and the combined amount of the federal benefit
plus the amount of this waiver shall not exceed the maximum value of
the waiver. A person is covered by the exemptions if his right to
benefits under federal legislation is extinguished at the time of
his registration, except that a person is not eligible for an
exemption from fees under this section if the person's right to
benefits under federal legislation is extinguished because the
person is in default of repayment of a loan made to the person under
a federal program to provide or guarantee loans for educational
purposes. A person is not eligible for the exemption if the person
is in default on a loan made or guaranteed for educational purposes
by the State of Texas.
(f) The governing board of each institution of higher
education may enter into contracts with the United States
government, or any of its agencies, to furnish instruction to
ex-servicemen and ex-service women at a tuition rate which covers
the estimated cost of the instruction or, in the alternative, at a
tuition rate of $100 a semester, as may be determined by the
governing board. If the rates specified are prohibited by federal
law for any particular class of ex-servicemen or ex-service women,
the tuition rate shall be set by the governing board, but shall not
be less than the established rate for civilian students. If federal
law provides as to any class of veterans that the tuition payments
are to be deducted from subsequent benefits to which the veteran may
be entitled, the institution shall refund to any veteran who is a
resident of Texas within the meaning of this section the amount by
which any adjusted compensation payment is actually reduced because
of tuition payments made to the institution by the federal
government for the veteran.
(g) The governing board of a junior college district may
establish a fee for extraordinary costs associated with a specific
course or program and may provide that the exemptions provided by
Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to this fee.
Text of subsec. (h) as added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 7, § 1
(h) The governing board of each institution of higher
education shall electronically report to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board the information required by Section 61.0516
relating to each individual receiving an exemption from fees and
charges under Subsection (a) or (b). The institution shall report
the information not later than December 31 of each year for the fall
semester, May 31 of each year for the spring semester, and September
30 of each year for the summer session.
Text of subsec. (h) as added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 888, § 9
(h) In determining whether to admit a person to any
certificate program or any baccalaureate, graduate, postgraduate,
or professional degree program, an institution of higher education
may not consider the fact that the person is eligible for an
exemption under this section.
(i) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adopt
rules to provide for the efficient and uniform application of this
section.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3072, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 435, § 1, 2, eff.
June 6, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 159, § 1, eff. May 23,
1995; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 301, § 1, eff. June 5, 1995;
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 840, § 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1102, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2005,
79th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. May 3, 2005; Acts 2005, 79th Leg.,
ch. 98, § 1, eff. May 20, 2005; Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 888,
§ 9, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.
Section: 54.069 54.070 54.073 54.073 54.074 54.075 54.201 54.203 54.204 54.2041 54.205 54.207 54.208 54.209 54.210
Last modified: August 10, 2007
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