BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 636 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 18, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 636 (Knight) - As Amended: May 9, 2011 Policy Committee: VeteransVote:7-0 Higher Education 9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill expands higher education tuition and fee refund policy for veterans who withdraw from class due to deployment, to cover the cost of tuition and fees already paid, regardless of withdrawal date. (Current law requires public and private colleges and universities to credit or refund tuition and fees, provided the student withdraws before a withdrawal date established by the school.) FISCAL EFFECT Moderate annual tuition and fee revenue loss, potentially in excess of $150,000, depending on deployment needs and number of service persons attending community colleges, CSU and UC to provide additional refunds to students deployed after a school's specified withdrawal deadline. For example, should this bill affect 125 community college students and 25 CSU students in a given year, the cost for refunds or credit would be about $160,000. COMMENTS Rationale . The author contends students who are deployed should not be subject to the same withdrawal dates that may apply to non-service member students. According to the author, "Servicemen and women obviously have little to no choice in when they depart, and are often given a short time frame in which to prepare to leave on deployment. If AB 636 Page 2 they are forced to leave mid-term, they deserve to be given an opportunity for compensation, regardless of the date the institution mandates for student withdrawal." Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081