Hon. C. H. Cavnees Opinion No. S-6.7 State Auditor State Capitol Re: The legality of counting, Austin, Texas for public j,unlor college apportionmentpurposes, semesterhours,taken by non-residentmilitary personnel enrolled In the colleges at resident tuition rate, part of being paid by Dear Sir: ment.

Yo’u have asked for the opinion concerning the lega.lity of co’untlng,

for college apportionmentpurposes, semester non-resldent,~milltary peraonnel enrolled at resident ,tuitlonrates,~ part of their paid by the U. S. Uovernment. their tuition t,he U.S. governof this office pbllc jun.lor hours taken by in the colleges t’ultlon

being

Yo’uatateIn your’letter that certain of the Public Junior Collegeshave in effect contractti with the United States Armed Forces whereby a portion of the tuition required is paid by the military undergraduate student and the pemalnder la paid by the Government.

Article IV, Chapter 81, Acte of ,the53rd Legislature, 1953 (commonlycalled the, '1953 Apporpriatlon Act) reads in part, at page,306 et eeq.:

“Sec. 3. It la further provided, that to be eligible for and to receive a proportionate share of this appropriation,a Publlc~ Junior College shall: “(a) Prior to November lrrt of each year, collect In full a8 tuition from each enro,lled student.

. . the amount.8 Ret a8 such by the respective governing boards.

. .providedHon. C. H. Cavness, page 2 (S-67)

further that valid contractswith the United States Government for instructionof undergraduate military personnelmay be consldered as collections subject to adjustment after final payments thereof.

"Sec. 4. (b) :. -2, Semesterhours to be counted for each Public JuniorCollege shall not Include.. s a tho.se hours being carried by any student receiving the benefits of U. S. Public Laws Nos. 346 or 16, 78th Congress. . .'I

It Is evident that students,in the military servicemay have their ho'urscount,ed in determiningthe amount of aid the public junior college Is to receive from, the State. Section 3 (a), supra, express,ly Includes governmentmilitary contractsand the students covered thereby. The 1951 AppropriationAct (Chagter499, Act,s of the 52nd Legislature, ;951, page 1228) excluded frqm the .semester

hours count any'student, whose tui,tlon

and ,feeexpenses are paid by the United States Government." Att'y Gen. Op. S-17 (1953). The '1953 Appropriatl~on

Act Is worded differently, excluding only'the semesterhours 'c,arried

by any student receiving the benefit o,f U. S.. Public Laws Nos. 346 or 16, 78th Congress."

House Bill No. 437, Acts-of the &rd Legislature, 1953, amends Subsection 6 of Section 1 of Article 2654c, Vernon's ,ClvllStatutes, so as to permit all members, qf the Arme:d

Forces stationed in Texas to attendstat,einstitutions of higher learningby paying r,egular resident tuition ,charges. Section 3 of House Bill 437 read,s: ,

"Providedthat the terms of!this Act. shall not be ap,pllcable, to students,their husbands or wives as the case may be,a are in attendanceat ,lnstitutions of ,higher learningunder contractualarrangements between said inqtltutlon,s and the,

Armed Forces of the United States, as described in Section 6 hereof,whereby the student% tuition Is paid by the said Armed Forces." (Emphasisadded)

fHon. co H. Cavness, page 3 (s-67)

Consequently, a non-residentmilitary ,student whose tuition la paid In part under contractbetween the United States Armed Force6 and a public junior college is obligated to pay the non-resident tuition charge8 specified In Subsection 2 of Section 1 of Article 2654c, Vernon’s Civil Statutes.

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.:

,~ In determining the, apportionment to which It Is entitled a public junior college may count the semesterhours carried by a military undergraduate, except those receivingbenefits*underU. Si Public, Laws Nos. 346 or 16, 78th Congres,s.

A military undergraduatewho Is a non-resident of the State of Texas must pay non-resident tuition If his tuition

by the United States Armed la paid In part Forces pursuant lnst1tutlon. tb a contractwith the

APPROVED:
,J.C. Davis, Jr. County Afialrs Division
Willie E. Greeham Reviewer
Burnell Waldrep Executive Assistant
John Ben Shepperd Attorney Oencral

BEL:am

‘, Yom-a, viry truly,

JOHNBEN SIIEPPEZRD Attorn,ey

General,

BY