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 re-
sources 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 edu-
cational status and financial resources of military per-
sonnel called to active duty. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reservist and National 
Guard Opportunities and Protection of Education Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE. 
(a) OBLIGATION AS PART OF PROGRAM PARTICIPA-
TION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 487(a)(22) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(22)) is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘and with the policy on leave of absence 
for active duty military service established pursuant to 
section 484C’’ after ‘‘section 484B’’. 
(b) LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE.— 
Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
is amended by inserting after section 484B (20 U.S.C. 
1094) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 484C. LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE. 
‘‘(a) LEAVE OF ABSENCE REQUIRED.—Whenever a 
student who is a member of the National Guard or other 
reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United 
States, or a member of such Armed Forces in a retired 
status, is called or ordered to active duty, the institution 
of higher education in which the student is enrolled shall 
grant the student a military leave of absence from the in-
stitution while such student is serving on active duty, and 
for one year after the conclusion of such service. 
‘‘(b) CONSEQUENCES OF MILITARY LEAVE OF AB-
SENCE.— 
‘‘(1) PRESERVATION
OF
STATUS
AND
AC-
COUNTS.—A student on a military leave of absence 
from an institution of higher education shall be enti-
tled, upon release from serving on active duty, to be 
restored to the educational status such student had
attained prior to being ordered to such duty without 
loss of academic credits earned, scholarships or 
grants awarded by the institution, or, subject to 
paragraph (2), tuition and other fees paid prior to 
the commencement of the active duty. 
‘‘(2) REFUNDS.—
‘‘(A) OBLIGATION
TO
REFUND; 
WITH-
DRAWAL
NOT
AUTOMATIC.—An institution of 
higher education shall refund tuition or fees 
paid prior to the commencement of the active 
duty. Notwithstanding the 180-day limitation in 
section 484B(a)(2)(B), a student on a military 
leave of absence under this section shall not be 
treated as having withdrawn for purposes of 
section 484B unless the student fails to return 
at the end of the military leave of absence (as 
determined under subsection (a) of this sec-
tion). 
‘‘(B) PROPORTIONATE REDUCTION OF RE-
FUND
FOR
TIME
COMPLETED.—If a student 
taking a military leave of absence for active 
duty requests a refund during a period of en-
rollment, the percentage of the tuition and fees 
that shall be refunded shall equal 100 percent 
minus—
‘‘(i) the percentage of the period of 
enrollment (for which the tuition and fees 
were paid) that was completed (as deter-
mined in accordance with section 484B(d)) 
as of the day the student withdrew, pro-
vided that such date occurs on or before 
the completion of 60 percent of the period 
of enrollment; or 
‘‘(ii) 100 percent, if the day the stu-
dent withdrew occurs after the student has 
completed 60 percent of the period of en-
rollment. 
‘‘(c) ACTIVE DUTY.—In this section, the term ‘active 
duty’ has the meaning given such term in section 
101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code, except that such 
term— 
‘‘(1) does not include active duty for training or 
attendance at a service school; but 
‘‘(2) includes, in the case of members of the 
National Guard, active State duty.’’. 
Æ