BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 636 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION Marty Block, Chair AB 636 (Knight) - As Amended: April 12, 2011 SUBJECT : Military service: benefits. SUMMARY : Requires public postsecondary educational institutions and private postsecondary educational institutions to provide specified accommodation for students who are required to report for military service. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires the higher education institution to credit tuition and fee charges for a subsequent academic term when a student is required to report for military service, for a period of three years. 2)Requires the higher education institution to provide a refund of tuition and fees paid for the academic term in which the student is required to report for military service, regardless of the institution's withdraw date. EXISTING LAW : The federal Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which expanded the former Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act (SSCRA), provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering, called to active military duty, and deployed service members (United States Code § 101). The intent is to postpone or suspend certain civil and financial obligations to enable service members to devote "full attention to duty." Reservists and members of the National Guard when in active federal service are also protected under SCRA. State law provides various protections including: 1)Protections to service members that are consistent with those found within SCRA, including but not limited to protections regarding court proceedings, credit contract obligations, rental agreements, and eviction protections. (Military and Veterans Code § 800-811) 2)The California Military Families Financial Relief Act of 2005, which protects college students called to active duty from tuition loss by requiring institutions to either 1) credit 100% of the tuition and fees toward a subsequent academic year or 2) provide a full refund of the tuition and fees if the AB 636 Page 2 student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. This law was expanded to include members of the National Guard ÝSB 1075 (Correa), Chapter 284, Statutes of 2010]. (MVC § 824) 3)Requires the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC), and requests the University of California (UC), to establish, and update as necessary, a written policy concerning students who are called to active military service, as specified, and to refund fees to students who are called to active military service. (Education Code § 66023) 4)Existing state law requires CSU and CCC, and requests UC, to grant priority registration for enrollment to former members of the Armed Forces of the United States within two years of leaving active military duty. (EC § 66025.8) FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : This bill was approved by the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee on April 5, 2011, by a vote of 7-0. Background : Under current law, students who is called to military service, including members of the California National Guard who are called to respond to an emergency, are entitled to a credit for subsequent academic terms for which they have paid and a refund of tuition and fees they have paid for the current academic term in which they are enrolled, up to the established withdrawal date that applies to all students who withdraw from a class. Withdraw dates are generally set around the midpoint in the academic term. For purposes of this section, a postsecondary institution includes UC, CSU, CCC, and private postsecondary educational institutions, as defined. Need for this bill . According to the author, "If a military member is called to active duty and is forced to leave school, current law does not allow for a refund after a withdrawal date specified by the educational institution. Therefore, service men and women may be forced to leave their institution with no credit or reimbursement, if they are required to leave after the withdrawal date has passed." Credit v. refund . While existing law allows for the institution to provide a credit, this bill would establish a three-year AB 636 Page 3 limit for the student to use that credit. The three segments report that they generally issue refunds to members called to active duty, which are easier and less expensive to administer. Further, a credit limits a student's options, since they must remember they have the credit and return to that institution to redeem the credit. Staff suggests an amendment to replace "credit" with "refund" and delete the associated three-year limit on use of the credit. Academic accommodations . Existing law requires the educational institutions to provide reasonable academic accommodations to students who are called to active duty. Since it is in the student's and the institution's best interests for the student to receive academic credit for their work, staff suggests an amendment to trigger the refund when academic accommodations are not possible. Clarifying amendment . Active military members often have their tuition and fees paid for by financial aid and/or veterans benefits programs. State and federal regulations require financial aid and veterans benefits to revert to the funding entity. Thus, staff suggests an amendment to clarify that the institutions will refund the tuition and fees that the student paid . Related legislation . AB 372 (Hernández), which is set for hearing in this Committee on May 3, 2011, would require CCC faculty to provide academic credit to military personnel, among others, for college-level learning gained in non-academic settings. AB 649 (Harkey), which passed this Committee and is pending on the Assembly Floor, would extend veterans' priority registration enrollment from two to five years after leaving active duty. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Federation of Teachers Opposition None on file. AB 636 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960