I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 199 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 

higher education to preserve the educational status and financial resources of military personnel called to active duty. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005 

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 

institutions of higher education to preserve the educational status and financial resources of military personnel called to active duty. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reservist and National 

5 Guard Opportunities and Protection of Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE. 

7 (a) OBLIGATION AS PART OF PROGRAM PARTICIPA8 TION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 487(a)(22) of the Higher 
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1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(22)) is amend2 ed by inserting ‘‘and with the policy on leave of absence 

3 for active duty military service established pursuant to 

4 section 484C’’ after ‘‘section 484B’’. 

5 (b) LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE.— 

6 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

7 is amended by inserting after section 484B (20 U.S.C. 

8 1094) the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 484C. LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE. 

10 ‘‘(a) LEAVE OF ABSENCE REQUIRED.—Whenever a 

11 student who is a member of the National Guard or other 

12 reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United 

13 States, or a member of such Armed Forces in a retired 

14 status, is called or ordered to active duty, the institution 

15 of higher education in which the student is enrolled shall 

16 grant the student a military leave of absence from the in17 stitution while such student is serving on active duty, and 

18 for one year after the conclusion of such service. 

19 ‘‘(b) CONSEQUENCES OF MILITARY LEAVE OF AB20 SENCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PRESERVATION OF STATUS AND AC22 COUNTS.—A student on a military leave of absence 

23 from an institution of higher education shall be enti24 tled, upon release from serving on active duty, to be 

25 restored to the educational status such student had 
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1 attained prior to being ordered to such duty without 

2 loss of academic credits earned, scholarships or 

3 grants awarded by the institution, or, subject to 

4 paragraph (2), tuition and other fees paid prior to 

5 the commencement of the active duty. 

6 ‘‘(2) REFUNDS.—

7 ‘‘(A) OBLIGATION TO REFUND; WITH8 DRAWAL NOT AUTOMATIC.—An institution of 

9 higher education shall refund tuition or fees 

10 paid prior to the commencement of the active 

11 duty. Notwithstanding the 180-day limitation in 

12 section 484B(a)(2)(B), a student on a military 

13 leave of absence under this section shall not be 

14 treated as having withdrawn for purposes of 

15 section 484B unless the student fails to return 

16 at the end of the military leave of absence (as 

17 determined under subsection (a) of this sec18 tion). 

19 ‘‘(B) PROPORTIONATE REDUCTION OF RE20 FUND FOR TIME COMPLETED.—If a student 

21 taking a military leave of absence for active 

22 duty requests a refund during a period of en23 rollment, the percentage of the tuition and fees 

24 that shall be refunded shall equal 100 percent 

25 minus—
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1 ‘‘(i) the percentage of the period of 

2 enrollment (for which the tuition and fees 

3 were paid) that was completed (as deter4 mined in accordance with section 484B(d)) 

5 as of the day the student withdrew, pro6 vided that such date occurs on or before 

7 the completion of 60 percent of the period 

8 of enrollment; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) 100 percent, if the day the stu10 dent withdrew occurs after the student has 

11 completed 60 percent of the period of en12 rollment. 

13 ‘‘(c) ACTIVE DUTY.—In this section, the term ‘active 

14 duty’ has the meaning given such term in section 

15 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code, except that such 

16 term— 

17 ‘‘(1) does not include active duty for training or 

18 attendance at a service school; but 

19 ‘‘(2) includes, in the case of members of the 

20 National Guard, active State duty.’’. 

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