By: Springer  S.B. No. 567          (In the Senate - Filed January 23, 2023; February 17, 2023,   read first time and referred to Subcommittee on Higher Education;   April 17, 2023, reported favorably from Committee on Education by   the following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; April 17, 2023, sent to   printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to firefighters enrolled in fire science courses.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 54.353, Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 54.353. FIREFIGHTERS ENROLLED IN FIRE SCIENCE   COURSES.  (a) The governing board of an institution of higher   education shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory   fees any student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of   a fire science curriculum who:                (1)  is employed as a firefighter by a political   subdivision of this state; or                (2)  is a member in good standing in a volunteer   firefighter department, registered with Texas Forest Service and   providing 911 service to a designated area [is currently, and has   been for at least one year, an active member of an organized   volunteer fire department participating in the Texas Emergency   Services Retirement System or a retirement system established under   the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (Article 6243e,   Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)] and who: [holds:]                      (A)  attends at least 20 hours of annual training;                      (B)  attends or provides support services for at   least 25 percent of the department's emergencies in a calendar   year; and                       (C)  holds:                            (i) [(A)]  an Accredited Advanced level of   certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the   State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas volunteer   certification program; or                            (ii) [(B)]  Phase V (Firefighter II)   certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the   Texas Commission on Fire Protection's voluntary certification   program under Section 419.071, Government Code.          (b)  An exemption provided under this section does not apply   to deposits that may be required in the nature of security for the   return or proper care of property loaned for the use of students.          (c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who for a   semester or term at an institution of higher education receives an   exemption under this section may continue to receive the exemption   for a subsequent semester or term at any institution only if the   student makes satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or   certificate at that institution as determined by the institution   for purposes of financial aid.          (d)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided   under this section does not apply to any amount of additional   tuition the institution elects to charge a resident undergraduate   student under Section 54.014(a) or (f).          (e)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided   under this section does not apply to any amount of tuition the   institution charges a graduate student in excess of the amount of   tuition charged to similarly situated graduate students because the   student has a number of semester credit hours of doctoral work in   excess of the applicable number provided by Section 61.059(l)(1) or   (2).          (f)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall   adopt:                (1)  rules governing the granting or denial of an   exemption under this section, including rules relating to the   determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption; and                (2)  a uniform listing of degree programs covered by   the exemption under this section.          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.     * * * * *