LRB-3716/1

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2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

2019 Assembly BILL 361

August 12, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives Duchow, Brandtjen, Petersen, Jagler, Kurtz, Magnafici, Gundrum, Petryk, Vorpagel, Horlacher, James, Tusler, Quinn, Loudenbeck, Spiros, Zimmerman, Kuglitsch, Sinicki, Murphy, Wichgers, Edming, Dittrich and Knodl, cosponsored by Senators Stroebel, L. Taylor, Craig, Marklein, Wirch, Jacque and Carpenter. Referred to Committee on Colleges and Universities.

AB361,1,5 An Act to renumber 36.11 (47) (a), 36.11 (47) (b), 38.12 (13) (a), 38.12 (13) (b) and 39.48 (2); to amend 36.11 (47) (intro.), 36.27 (2) (br) 2., 38.12 (13) (intro.), 39.48 (intro.) and 39.48 (1); and to create 36.11 (47) (d), 38.12 (13) (d), 39.48 (2m) (intro.) and (a) and 39.48 (3) of the statutes; relating to: requirements for colleges when service member students are called into active duty.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill makes changes relating to the responsibilities of colleges to national guard members and other service members who withdraw from school because they are called into active military service.

Current law provides certain protections to a student of a University of Wisconsin System school, technical college, or private nonprofit college who is a national guard member or a member of a reserve unit of the U.S. armed forces and who withdraws from school because he or she is called into active military service for at least 30 days. Under these protections, the school or college must reenroll the student in the semester in which the student is discharged, demobilized, or deactivated or, if the student prefers, in the following semester and give the student the same course registration priority that the student would have had if the student had registered at the beginning of the registration period. In addition, if the student is enrolled in a UW System school or technical college, at the student's request, the school or college must either 1) reimburse all tuition and fees paid for courses from which the student had to withdraw, and for prorated room and board at a UW System school or 2) grant the student an incomplete in the courses from which the student had to withdraw and allow the student to complete the courses within six months after leaving service without paying additional tuition or fees. If the student is enrolled in a private nonprofit college, the college must grant the student an incomplete and allow course completion as described in 2, above.

This bill affords these protections to students called into active military service for any period, not just for 30 days or more. The bill also expands these protections to students at all private institutions, not only nonprofit institutions, and provides these students with the option, instead of receiving an incomplete and completing courses later, to obtain reimbursement of tuition and fees paid for courses from which the student had to withdraw and of prorated room and board. The bill also requires schools and colleges, under specified circumstances, to ensure that students called into active military service are provided a reasonable opportunity to complete final projects and final examinations.

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:

AB361,1 Section 1. 36.11 (47) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB361,2,6 36.11 (47) Armed forces. (intro.) If a student who is a member of a national guard or a member of a reserve unit of the U.S. armed forces withdraws from school after September 11, 2001, because he or she is called into state active duty or into active service with the U.S. armed forces for at least 30 days, the board shall reenroll do all of the following: