Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable W. W. Heath Opinion No. c-183 Chairman, Board of Regents 'The University of Texas. Re: Tuition fees to be collected Perry-Brooks Building by the University of Texas Austin, Texas under Section l(h) of Article 26%~ of Vernon's Civil Stat- Dear Mr. Heath: utes under the facts stated. Your reque~stfor opinion on the above subject matter indicates that numerous nonresident military personnel stationed in Texas are desirous of obtaining the resident status for tui- tion fees pursuant to'Section l(h) of Article 26%~ of Vernon's Civil Statutes. Subsection (h) states as follows: "Officers. enlisted men and women, selectees or draftees of the Army, Army Reserve, National Guard, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Navy, Navy Reserve, or E?arineCorps of the United States, who are stationed in Texas bv assignment to dutv wimp the borders of.;&: state. shall be Dermitted to resister themseAs., their husband or wife as the case may be, arj their,ch<.ldren,in state institu- tions of,higher learning hi paying the regular tui- tion fees and other fees or charges provided for regular residents of the State of Texas, without regard to th.eJ'Jngthof time such officers, enlisted men orwomeq, srtlecteescr draftees have been sta- tioned on actiivedUtym,,hd.thin the state." (Emphasis added). The departmental construction applied by The University to recurring fact situations is outlined in your letter as fol- lows : "In'construing the phrase 'by assignment to duty within the borders of this state,' it has been the administrative interpretation of long standing at The,University of Texas that nonresident military personnel in order to qualify for the resident tui- tion rate must be assigned to a duty station within the borders of this state, actively engaged in mili- tary duties as contrasted to student assignment and -%87- Hon. W. W. Heath, page 2 (c-183) attending school during their off-duty hours or during their normal annual accrued leave, rather than in an 'excess leave' status. Such administrative interpretation has been applied according to the following three factual situa- tions: "1. Nonresident students whose permanent military assignment is to a Student Detachment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and whose duty sta- tion is at The University of Texas in Austin. These students are attending school full time with same being charged to future leave (in ef- fect in an 'excess leave' category). Such stud- ents receive no pay or allowances and pay their own fees, etc. They are required, however, to report to Fort Sam Houston during any period in excess of three days when the University is not in session and receive pay for military duties performed during such period. These students are classified as nonresidents for tuition pur- poses, for the reason that they are not con- sidered to be assigned to military duty while attending the University full time. "2. Military personnel who are assigned temporarily to a duty station in Texas for the purpose of playing in a sporting event or par- ticipating in some other special service of short duration and who enroll their dependents. in the University and pay full~tuition fees with- out government assistance are classified as non- residents for tuition purposes, for the reason of thentransient nature of their assignment in Texas. On the other hand, personnel who are assigned to an Officers Candidate School for period of seven- teen weeks' duration, even though on TDY orders, have been classified as residents for tuition purposes. The length of time and purpose of their duty is considered in making such a determination. "3. Non resident students attending The Uni- verslty of Texas during their normal