Tour Iraq? Then you're no longer a resident of Texas!

[DPDarkPrimus]

AUSTIN, Texas — 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 rates.

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 $2600 a semester in tuition, instead of about $500.

The school's response surprised the 27-year-old Beeville native, who is registered to vote in Travis County, has a Texas driver's license and does his banking in Austin.

Officials at the college said that Basham didn't meet state requirements as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A school spokeswoman says privacy laws prevent prevented her from commenting on his case.

Source

Well, I'm angry about this.

[Joe]

Absolutely. Fucking. Ridiculous. There should absolutely be an exception for soldiers, I know that soldiers who've been out of the country for more than 2 years can get in-state tuition in Georgia.

[CmdrWilkens]

This is one of those cases where as soon as he went to any person with any kind of authority they should have gone "whoops" and let him get in-state. It would have "cost" them all of $2100 now in bad publicity plus the high likelyhood that he will get in on that rate anyway after public outcry its gonna get a lot worse than a measley $2100.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Absolutely. Fucking. Ridiculous. There should absolutely be an exception for soldiers, I know that soldiers who've been out of the country for more than 2 years can get in-state tuition in Georgia.

Well, I guess even Georgia can get something right every once in a while.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Yeah, a bureaucratic snfu. They'll fix it no problem.

[Quadlok]

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Sorry, this is really not a laughing matter, but just the fact this happened in Texas.

Okay, I'm better now. Going from what I can remember of my state's requirements for declaring residency, all it mentions is having lived in state for a year. Assuming Texas is similar, then the problem is that 'residency' is so narrowly defined that simply having been born and raised in a state has no bearing on your eligibility.

Because this lucky young man got to spend the last couple years getting shot at instead of eating wonderfu, extremely unhealthy food and getting bit by just about anything capable of biting a human is reason enough for them to refuse his request (plus, they undoubtedly need the money.)

[Oni Koneko Damien]

$500 a semester? Holy fuck, my in-state tuition was $2500 a semester, and I was a commuter.

[The Dark]

$500 a semester? Holy fuck, my in-state tuition was $2500 a semester, and I was a commuter.

For University of Central Florida, it's about $100 per hour for undergrads, $250 for graduate students. Total full time is about $3300/6000, respectively, for a commuter student.

As far as establishing residency when leaving the state for a long duration, all that needs to be done here is a sworn statement that, despite being out of state, the in-state location is the primary place of residence, and it is the intention of the resident that it be primary place of residence.

[Darth Wong]

I like the way the bureaucrat refused to comment because of "privacy concerns". Nice bullshit excuse.

[The Dark]

I like the way the bureaucrat refused to comment because of "privacy concerns". Nice bullshit excuse.

Actually, it's true. Discussion of any portion of a student or prospective student's record is illegal under Federal Law unless and until he signs a consent of release form. We had to explain that to incoming freshmen at Orientation (and hope they signed it, since we had access to information we technically shouldn't have under that law).

[Darth Wong]

I like the way the bureaucrat refused to comment because of "privacy concerns". Nice bullshit excuse.

Actually, it's true. Discussion of any portion of a student or prospective student's record is illegal under Federal Law unless and until he signs a consent of release form.

So? The bureaucrat could comment on the information that has already been revealed to the media by other sources.

[dragon]

All he needs is to call hios local legal office as what they did is against the law. The state of residence of a service is not affected by the length of time he stays out of that state.

[Gil Hamilton]

I'm not suprised by this. I investigated colleges in Houston and according to them, you have to have worked in the State of Texas for a certain length of time to be considered an in-state resident. Not just have lived there for a long time, but worked there. However, it is ridiculous and I'm suprised their isn't an exemption.

[Glocksman]

The story may not be as simple as it sounds

Austin Community College Letter

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.

In the meantime, ACC invites all who have inquired about the status of the Marine veteran in this instance to show their full support for our veterans and higher education by making a donation to the ACC Foundation. I have made an additional personal donation to the ACC Foundation, and invite others who feel strongly about this issue to consider doing the same.

For more information about scholarship donation opportunities, you may go to www.austincc.edu/foundation.

Thank you.

Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, President

[Jew]

I investigated colleges in Houston and according to them, you have to have worked in the State of Texas for a certain length of time to be considered an in-state resident.

I think they do this to prevent people from "moving" to Texas to get in-state rates. College students will try to do that: they'll move in with a friend over the summer or something, and maybe pay out-of-state rates for the first year, but then try to claim residency for their second year of school. I have friends who did that kind of thing successfully in California. California has since wised up and changed the law.

As for the original article about the serviceman in Iraq, there must be more to this story than we're hearing. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) clearly states in their FAQ that service members maintain their residency:

Q. I'm a member of the U.S. armed forces stationed in Guam. My home of record is Texas. When I come back to Texas at the end of my tour, will I be considered a Texas resident?

A. Generally, unless specific efforts are made by the member to change their home state, members of the U.S. armed forces and commissioned Public Health Service Officers retain residency in the state listed as their home of record at the time of entry into service. However, if you do not return to the state within 12 months of your separation date, you will have to live and work in Texas for a year to re-establish your claim to residency.

[Link to source]

Aha! Notice the part where it says the soldiers "retain residency in the state listed as their home of record at the time of entry into service?" Well Carl Basham graduated from high school and enlisted in the Marines in Louisiana.

Houston Chronicle reports:

Austin Community College spokesman Dwayne Cox said it's not Basham's military tours that keep him from meeting in-state residence requirements.

Under Texas law, members of the military are presumed to maintain the same residence as when they enlisted in the service. Although he grew up throughout Texas, mostly in Waco, Basham graduated from high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps in Monroe, La.

So the problem is that Mr. Basham was not a Texas resident when the joined the Marines. He was a Louisiana resident then, so according to law he's a Louisiana resident now.

[Jew]

Hmm, Glocksman beat me to it. That'll teach me to spend 15 minutes writing a post.

[Golan III]

As an active duty military member, you are able to declare any state for your residency - Alaska is the only one that is restrictive, since there is an annual payout associated with your residency, and you have to physically spend a certain amount of time annually in-state, to validate your residency. Anyway. When you separate, your DoD Form 22 will list your permanent residency address - sometimes this gets bunked up by the personnelists, and they list your place of entrance to the military as your residency address - for me, mine was all fucked up, as I was a Montana resident, with parents living in Las Vegas at the time I first enlisted (however they don't live there anymore, and didn't when I finally shipped off), and I shipped through the Seattle processing station. Anyway it took me looking over the form with a fine-toothed comb to ensure everything was right, and there still were some errors (they had me going back to Las Vegas - nope!).

It is possible that this guy just either didn't, or wasn't able to, ensure everything on his Form 22 was up to speed. Hence his problems with the community college. It happens.

[Jew]

News 8 Austin

When Basham was a junior in high school, he and his parents moved from Waco to Louisiana. He joined the military from there. But after a year, his parents moved back to Texas. They've lived in Austin ever since.
...
"After me being in the military for a year, coming from Louisiana, my parents moved back into Texas, making me an automatic resident, because I'm still their dependent," Basham said.

I sympathize with Mr. Basham, but how did he figure himself still a dependent after spending a year in the military?

Curiouser and curiouser. Here's what I wonder: Carl Basham had two tours of duty in Iraq, each less than a year. He spent eight and a half years in the Marines, so where was he stationed the rest of the time? One article mentioned he was in California for a time. Seems to me that if he was stationed in Texas for any reasonable length of time then (combined with his Texas driver's license, bank account, voter registration, and childhood) he should have a reasonable claim on residency.

The main problem seems to be this: Basham joined the military as a Louisiana resident. Apparently his residency was "frozen" at that time, so regardless of which states he lived in during his time of service, he remained a Louisiana resident. After his discharge, it's like those intervening years never happened, at least insofar as residency requirements pertaining to tuition are concerned. So in a sense one might say that his military service prevented him from re-establishing his Texas residency after having lived in Louisiana for his senior year of high school. Sounds to me like the law needs to be a bit more flexible.

[ArmorPierce]

Don't most college not allow you to claim yourself as independent untill you're well into your 20s?

[Keevan_Colton]

Don't most college not allow you to claim yourself as independent untill you're well into your 20s?

As far as Uni's etc here are concerned unless you have extraordinary evidence to the contrary they'll call you a dependant until 25 IIRC.

[Jew]

Apparently the system in place in Texas works. Carl Basham has produced the documents necessary to qualify for a waiver. He has been granted in-state rates.

DentonRC.com

A decorated Texas-born Marine who was told he didn't qualify for the cheaper state resident college tuition can now pay the lower-priced rate.

Carl Basham, 27, was initially told by staff at Austin Community College that he didn't qualify for Texas resident tuition, meaning he would have to pay around $2,600 instead of about $500 a semester in tuition.

On Friday, Basham received the in-state designation after he turned in documents officials found would provide him with waivers to the residency rules.

The school's first response surprised Basham, who was born in Beeville, is registered to vote in Travis County and has a Texas driver's license.

But under Texas law, members of the military are presumed to maintain the same residence as when they enlisted in the service.

Although he grew up throughout Texas and lived most of his youth in Waco, Basham graduated from high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps in Monroe, La.

After conducting research, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson found Basham designated his official residence as Austin more than a year ago with the military. Basham also meets two waivers to the law: he has a valid will in Texas, plus he's had a vehicle registered in Texas since 2001, according to Patterson.

Also on Friday, ACC President Steve Kinslow and Basham called lawmakers to change state law to make it easier for veterans to qualify for in-state tuition rates, regardless of residency.

"I think it's reasonable for states to consider policies that simply say, documentation of service to your country should qualify anyone regardless of where they reside," Kinslow said.

Austin Community College also plans to start a fund to help veterans pay for college costs. Donations can be made to the ACC Foundation.

Although he expects the federal government to pay for his studies, Basham said he won't receive GI benefits for several more months.