SB205: Bill Text

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2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

2019 Senate BILL 205

May 8, 2019 - Introduced by Senators Kooyenga, Marklein, Testin, Wanggaard, Bewley, Smith and Bernier, cosponsored by Representatives Kurtz, Sanfelippo, Kulp, Spiros, Skowronski, Kuglitsch, Ballweg, Thiesfeldt, Tusler, Brandtjen, Dittrich, Sinicki, Horlacher, Wichgers and VanderMeer. Referred to Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children and Families.

SB205,1,4 An Act to renumber and amend 36.31 (4) and 38.12 (7) (b); and to create 36.31 (4) (bm) and 38.12 (7) (b) 2m. of the statutes; relating to: transferring academic credits from military transcripts to University of Wisconsin System schools and technical colleges.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill allows a student enrolled in a University of Wisconsin System school or technical college who served in the military to object to the transfer of academic credit from the student's military transcript to the UW System school or technical college.

Current law requires the Board of Regents of the UW System to establish policies for transferring credits between UW System schools and to enter into an agreement for the transfer of certain credits between UW System schools and technical colleges. Current law also allows the Board of Regents to establish policies for credit transfers with other educational institutions.

Also under current law, each UW System school and technical college must, upon receiving from the federal Department of Defense a student's official joint services transcript or Community College of the Air Force transcript, do the following: 1) accept all American Council on Education credit recommendations included in the official joint services transcript and award academic credit to the student in accordance with these recommendations; and 2) accept all credits included in the CCAF transcript and award academic credit to the student accordingly.

Under this bill, if a student objects to the awarding of credit for any course included in the official joint services transcript or CCAF transcript, the UW System school or technical college may not award credit for that course.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB205,1 Section 1. 36.31 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 36.31 (4) (am), and 36.31 (4) (am) (intro.), as renumbered, is amended to read:

SB205,2,6 36.31 (4) (am) (intro.) Upon Except as provided in par. (bm), upon receiving from the federal department of defense a student's official joint services transcript or Community College of the Air Force transcript, the institution or college campus in which the student is enrolled shall do the following:

SB205,2 Section 2. 36.31 (4) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:

SB205,2,11 36.31 (4) (bm) An institution or college campus may not award academic credit to a student under par. (am) for each course for which the student, upon consultation with the institution's or college campus's staff, objects to the awarding of credit for that course.

SB205,3 Section 3. 38.12 (7) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 38.12 (7) (b) 1m., and 38.12 (7) (b) 1m. (intro.), as renumbered, is amended to read:

SB205,2,17 38.12 (7) (b) 1m. (intro.) Upon Except as provided in subd. 2m., upon receiving from the federal department of defense a student's official joint services transcript or Community College of the Air Force transcript, the technical college in which the student is enrolled shall do the following:

SB205,4 Section 4. 38.12 (7) (b) 2m. of the statutes is created to read:

SB205,3,3 38.12 (7) (b) 2m. A technical college may not award academic credit to a student under subd. 1m. for each course for which the student, upon consultation with the technical college's staff, objects to the awarding of credit for that course.

SB205,3,4 (End)