According to the American Association of Colleges and Universities, 90 percent of men and women who enlist in the military do so immediately after high school or shortly thereafter, without earning a college degree. For those service members who return to college or use service in the Reserves or National Guard to make college affordable, there is a risk that a state or the Department of Defense will call them to active duty or deploy them while they're in college. While being recalled to active-duty military service disrupts a service member's secondary education, the needs of the military come first.
If you're serving in the Reserves or National Guard, you understand the potential conflicts that can arise while you're in school. But we often hear from clients concerned about how they can ensure their return to college will go as smoothly as possible. Federal and state laws are designed to protect your rights, prevent discrimination, and ensure your readmission to college. However, not every school or administrator understands the full extent of a college's legal obligation to readmit you to school and ensure you retain your original academic status. When that happens, you need the dedicated Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or reach out online and we will be in touch.
Benefits of Guard or Reserve Service in College
Whether you've served on active duty in the past or currently serve in the National Guard or Reserves, financial and educational benefits can help you get a college degree. These benefits help recruit students to the military and help students pay for college with little or no debt.
- GI Bill In 2008, the Clinton administration revamped the GI Bill, providing education benefits for service members with at least 36 months of service or 30 days of service followed by an honorable discharge for a service-related disability. The GI Bill pays full tuition and fees for public in-state schools, or just over $27,000 a year for private schools, a stipend for books, and a housing allowance. They can also transfer benefits to family members in some cases. Many service members still in the reserves use the GI Bill to attend or finish college.
- National Guard State Benefits The benefits of joining the National Guard while in college vary by state. However, all service members, including the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, are eligible for Military Tuition Assistance (MilTA) while serving on active duty. MilTA pays up to $4,500 per year for classes leading to an undergraduate or graduate degree. Service members on active duty who are officers incur a two-year service commitment. At the same time, those in the Reserves or National Guard must agree to remain on active duty for two years or in the Reserves for four years.
Some states also provide additional benefits to students who serve in the National Guard. For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia offers additional tuition assistance for Guard members on top of federal tuition assistance. In Virginia, state tuition assistance is up to $8,000 per year on top of the up to $4,500 available in federal MilTA for active National Guard members.
Federal Protections for Service Members
While the education benefits offered by federal and state governments make remaining in the Reserves or National Guard an attractive option, there is always the risk of a recall to active duty while in college. The Declaration of a National Emergency signed by President George W. Bush after 9/11 is still in effect today and allows the government to call reservists to active duty. States may also call National Guard members up to active duty in times of national or state emergency. States also supplement troops needed by the Department of Defense for deployment. So what happens if you're called to active duty?
When you're called to active duty in the National Guard or Reserves, federal law protects you from discrimination by your college or university upon your return. However, you do have to comply with the requirements of federal statutes to ensure federal law protects your return to school.
Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) and regulations implemented in 2010 protect service members whose education is interrupted by involuntary or voluntary military service, giving them the right to readmission to a post-secondary education program. The law applies to any education institution participating in federal student financial aid programs, including the federal work-study program, Pell Grants, and Stafford loans.
No Discrimination Against Military Service
The HEOA expressly protects service members called to active duty while they're in school, prohibiting a college or university from discriminating against them:
A person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform, service in the uniformed services shall not be denied readmission to an institution of higher education on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.
This means that a college or university, including graduate and specialty degree programs, can't deny admission or readmission to a school based on your obligation to serve in the reserves or National Guard. They also can't discriminate against you if you decide to join the military or have previously served.
Readmission to School
If you've served on active duty because of an obligation to the Guard or reserves, the school must readmit you if you've followed the statutory requirements, including:
- You or a Department of Defense official give advance notice to the school in writing or verbally,
- Your absence from school because of military service doesn't exceed five years cumulatively, and
- You submit a notice to your school that you intend to re-enroll.
The statute states:
Any student whose absence from an institution of higher education is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to readmission to the institution of higher education if-
(A) the student (or an appropriate officer of the Armed Forces or official of the Department of Defense) gives advance written or verbal notice of such service to the appropriate official at the institution of higher education;
(B) the cumulative length of the absence and of all previous absences from that institution of higher education by reason of service in the uniformed services does not exceed five years; and
(C) except as otherwise provided in this section, the student submits a notification of intent to reenroll in the institution of higher education in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4).
When readmitted, the school must readmit you “with the same academic status” you had when you “last attended the institution of higher education.” This even affects your tuition. Under federal regulations, “same academic status” means they must readmit you:
- To the same program, or the most similar if it no longer exists,
- To the same enrollment status unless you agree to something different,
- With the same number of credit hours you previously completed and
- The same academic standing, with the same academic progress you held previously.
Your college or school must also charge only the tuition you would have been charged for the academic year when you left. They can charge:
(i) The tuition and fee charges that the student was or would have been assessed for the academic year during which the student left the institution; or
(ii) Up to the amount of tuition and fee charges that other students in the program are assessed for that academic year, if veterans' education benefits, as defined in section 480(c) of the HEA, or other servicemember education benefits, will pay the amount in excess of the tuition and fee charges assessed for the academic year in which the student left the institution….
However, many colleges aren't aware of their legal obligations, especially concerning tuition and academic status when a student returns to school after military service.
Notice of Intent to Return
To protect your right to return to school after military service, you must give your school a notification that you intend to return within three years after completing your service:
a student … shall, upon the completion of a period of service in the uniformed services, notify the institution of higher education of the student's intent to return to the institution not later than three years after the completion of the period of service.
However, if you were hospitalized or recovering from an injury or illness that happened during your military service or that became aggravated during your service, you must give your notice to return to your school within two years after your recovery period:
A student who is hospitalized for or convalescing from an illness or injury incurred in or aggravated during the performance of service in the uniformed services shall notify the institution of higher education of the student's intent to return to the institution not later than two years after the end of the period that is necessary for recovery from such illness or injury.
If you don't notify your school that you intend to return within the required two- or three-year period, that doesn't mean that you can't return. Rather, you may have to follow your school's already established leave of absence policies or general practices. However, school leave of absence policies for students are often much more restrictive than federal regulations. For example, the University of Florida's leave of absence policy only allows leave for six weeks to a year, depending on circumstances. The school's Academic Status Committee must approve longer leaves.
Documentation for Notice of Intent to Return
When you submit a notice of intent to return to your school, you must give them documentation that:
- You haven't exceeded the five-year service limit. Your absences from school for military service can't exceed five years cumulatively.
- You haven't lost your right to readmission because of one of the exceptions listed below.
However, your college or university can't try to avoid readmitting you or delay your admission by demanding documentation that doesn't exist or isn't easily available at the time:
An institution of higher education may not delay or attempt to avoid a readmission of a student under this section by demanding documentation that does not exist, or is not readily available, at the time of readmission.
Losing Your Right to Readmission
You can lose your right to readmission to your college or university if:
- You're separated from the military, including the National Guard or Reserves, with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge,
- You are separated from the military because you've been AWOL for three months or longer,
- You are separated from the military because of a “confinement adjudicated by court-martial,” or
- You have been “sentenced to confinement in a Federal or State penitentiary or correctional institution after having been found guilty of an offense,” or
- You separated from the military by order of the President in a time of war.
State Protections for Service Members
In some cases, your military service may be too short to fall under the protections of federal law. But many states also offer protections to students who must leave school for military service. Currently, 21 states have laws covering service members returning to school after military service:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
State requirements vary, but they must be at least as generous as federal law to be enforceable. Federal laws and regulations regarding readmission and the time limits set by these supersede state law. However, the state limit will apply if your state offers a more generous readmission timeline.
You Need an Experienced Education Legal Team
If you're returning to college after active-duty service and encountering challenges from your college or about to leave school to complete a military obligation, you don't have to figure this out alone. You need the Lento Law Firm's experienced national Education Law Team to protect your rights. They've been helping students like you through post-secondary education issues for years, and they can help you, too. Call them today at 888-535-3686 or contact the Lento Law Firm online to schedule a consultation.
