It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

NEWS: Texas Charges Iraq War Veteran Out-of-State Tuition Due to Military Service

page: 1
7

log in

join
share:

posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 11:00 PM
link   
A Texas citizen who was serving in active duty in the Marines in Iraq may be charged out-of-state tuition to attend university because he wasn't residing in the State while serving in Iraq. Out-of-state tuition in Texas costs $2,600 per semester while in-state tuition costs only $500.
 



www.kwtx.com
A decorated Marine enrolling in college was shocked to learn his Texas driver's license, car registration and bank records weren't enough to get the lower resident tuition.

Carl Basham said officials at Austin Community College recently told him that he lost his Texas resident's status because of the years he spent out of state on two tours of duty in Iraq.

Not having the in-state designation would mean paying around $2,600 a semester in tuition, instead of about $500.


Please visit the link provided for the complete story.


This is absolutely crazy...it looks like a lot of politicians are falling over each other to advocate for this guy and I have no doubt that the issue will be resolved. But this is a good lesson in the idiocracy that can come from bureaucracy.

[edit on 8/18/2005 by djohnsto77]



posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 11:07 PM
link   
I read this report and he has some high powered support comming his way. I doubt that this was an anti war statement just someone who took to the letter of the law.



posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 11:10 PM
link   
I agree, FredT.
I read this story earlier today. Was disgrunted by it.
Someone will rectify this situation though, I am confident on this.





seekerof



posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 11:26 PM
link   
I wouldn't count on any rectification here. It should happen, but in TExas you never know.

I stood deaf before a judge who santioned me, then ordered me to defend myself, in a child support hearing. The state claimed I wasn't paying. I did 171 days in jail until a federal court stepped in odering a Writ of Habeus because I had been paying until I went to jail.

Then the state wondered why I wasn't paying. Well, Duh?

By the time I got the Writ I had lost everything. And the judge said, "I can't help you."

Texas just doesn't get it.



posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 11:31 PM
link   
I'm sure it was a 'billing' mistake, as military personnel have a year after service to establish residence. They can go to school at the same tuition as in-state students, no matter what state he/she chooses.

Unless of course he/she chooses Wisconsin. The Govenor is passing a bill that will allow any veteran (regardless of discharge date) to attend the state universities tuition free. This will also apply to the wife and children of any fallen soldier. I believe it's expected to go into effect by Jan 06. Now, that's patriotism! Two thumbs up



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 12:34 AM
link   
I doubt that this will stand, unless he changed his residence to another state prior to going to Iraq. For servicemembers, legal residence remains the state lived in at the time of enlistment, unless the law has changed and I doubt that seriously.

[edit on 2005/8/19 by GradyPhilpott]



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 02:19 AM
link   
Only in America. Texas America. Sad state of affairs. So ludicrous it must be true. The Greatest nation on the planet.



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 02:43 AM
link   
Well, they must be leaving some pertinent information out of the article or it's a billing error.

It looks like Texas has the 'The Hazlewood Act Exemption', which exempts military veterans from paying school tuitions and fees:

www.collegefortexans.com...

So, unless his discharge was 'other than honorable' or 'dishonorable', it looks like he should be going to school for free.



[edit on 19-8-2005 by SourGrapes]



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 09:26 AM
link   
Everytime I read a story such as this, I am not surprised that recruitment goals are not being met. After all, the brave men and women that choose to enlist are not ignorant. I am sure they watch the news and see what trouble returning Americans are facing...



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 02:02 PM
link   
As usual there was more to the story than met the eye. Here is a statement from the college in question:



A Message from the President of Austin Community College
Recent news reports about a U.S. Marine veteran being ineligible for in-state tuition at Austin Community College or any other public higher education institution in Texas have raised some questions about state residency law. While ACC honors all who serve our country, and is committed to helping them achieve access to higher education, it is important that all relevant information be considered.

First, this is not a widespread problem applicable to all who have served their country. This is an individual situation involving one person who lived in another state before entering the military and who listed the other state – not Texas – as his permanent address in military records.

Texas residency is guided by state law, as reflected in the Texas Education Code. As a taxpayer-funded college, ACC is not able to pick the laws with which it complies. Additionally, this type of situation is complicated when a resident moves out of Texas for several years prior to entering the military, enlists in the military in another state, and lists that state as a home of record and permanent address in all military papers.

Contrary to some reports, ACC has assisted the student with his fall enrollment. Yet again, we are not able to ignore the state law which guides residency designation. The law mandates we treat all applicants equally. ACC has applied the current state residency law to the student in question, made many calls on his behalf to ensure that any documentation needed to comply with the law was understood, and confirmed with him his eligibility to receive Pell Grant and VA educational assistance. If public elected officials choose to change Texas’ public policy on residency to make it even more flexible for those who serve their country in the military, ACC would certainly be supportive.



Hope this can restore a little faith in some people about the intelligence of American bureaucracies. But probably not



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 02:23 PM
link   
Why oh Why oh Why doesn't this surprise me? I did my time in the military and I know what we were promised in the various G.I. bills and I know I have had to fight tooth and nail to get a quarter of what we were promised. America unfortuantely has a horrible track record on how it treats is former military personal, it's scandalous and uncalled for. I always thought that if you were just discharged, you could go to any state in the union, enroll in college and get the instate tuition rate, but that it only applied for a few months upon discharge. I know that applied to me, my last station was in Washington state (9 months) and when I got out I moved back to Maine where the majority of my service time had been (I am from Virginia) and I enrolled in college and immediately got the instate tuition rate.



posted on Aug, 19 2005 @ 03:44 PM
link   
All I have to say to this is:

Welcome to Texas.



new topics

top topics



 
7

log in

join