BILL ANALYSIS �
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
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student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the
institution. This law was expanded to include members of the
National Guard �SB 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
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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 (Hern�ndez), 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
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Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960