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Committee releases bill requiring public colleges to readmit students called to uniformed service
Summary
A committee released a bill that would require public colleges and universities to readmit undergraduate students who withdrew to perform uniformed service, restoring prior academic status and forbidding a readmission fee.
A legislative committee released a measure that would require public institutions of higher education to readmit undergraduate students who withdraw to serve in the uniformed services and to restore them to the academic status they held when they last attended.
Committee staff summarized the bill’s main provisions: readmission must occur in the academic semester next following a written request by the student; institutions must readmit the student with the same academic status the student had when last enrolled; and institutions are prohibited from charging a fee for a readmission request made under the bill’s provisions.
During committee consideration, members and commenters raised questions about private institutions and financial aid. One committee member asked whether the state could reach out to private colleges “to let them know the policy of the state for its public institutions that might be beneficial.” A staff member responded that some private institutions already follow similar practices and that the committee could consider an amendment to include them if desired. A separate committee member asked whether student veterans would be able to retain their financial aid and GI Bill benefits upon return; the transcript records the question but does not include a staff answer that specifies funding outcomes.
Public supporters registered without oral testimony, including Libby Austin, Andy Baldwin, King Hegeman, Pat O’Connell and Morgan (last name not specified). The transcript records committee members expressing unanimous support in the roll-call vote to release the bill.
On the motion to release the measure (identified in the transcript as A 38 0 3 and an identical senate counterpart), the recorded affirmative votes were: Assemblyman Sawicki; Assemblyman Rumpf; Assemblyman Ramirez; Assemblyman McCoy; Assemblyman Maranko; Chairwoman Tucker. The committee chair commented that the bill is “just 1 of the debts we need to pay for our veterans” when discussing facilitating veterans’ return to higher education.
The transcript does not record detailed fiscal analysis, specific bill number normalization, or a staff response that definitively states whether GI Bill or other federal/state financial aid will be preserved automatically under the measure.
