1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to military; providing certain protections to 
  1.3             persons called or ordered to active service; proposing 
  1.4             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 
  1.5             190; 192. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [190.055] [PROTECTIONS.] 
  1.8      A person called or ordered to active service, as defined in 
  1.9   section 190.05, subdivision 5a or 5b, has all the protections 
  1.10  afforded to persons in the military service of the United States 
  1.11  under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940, United 
  1.12  States Code, Appendix 50, sections 501 to 548, and 560 to 591, 
  1.13  as amended. 
  1.14     Sec. 2.  [192.502] [PROTECTIONS.] 
  1.15     (a) A member of the Minnesota national guard or any other 
  1.16  military reserve component who is a student at a post-secondary 
  1.17  education institution and who is called or ordered to state 
  1.18  active service in the Minnesota national guard, as defined in 
  1.19  section 190.05, subdivision 5, or who is called or ordered to 
  1.20  federal active military service has the following rights: 
  1.21     (1) with regard to courses in which the person is enrolled, 
  1.22  the person may: 
  1.23     (i) withdraw from one or more courses for which tuition and 
  1.24  fees have been paid that are attributable to the courses.  The 
  1.25  tuition and fees must be credited to the person's account at the 
  2.1   post-secondary institution.  Any refunds are subject to the 
  2.2   requirements of the state or federal financial aid programs of 
  2.3   origination.  In such a case, the student must not receive 
  2.4   credit for the courses and must not receive a failing grade, an 
  2.5   incomplete, or other negative annotation on the student's 
  2.6   record, and the student's grade point average must not be 
  2.7   altered or affected in any manner because of action under this 
  2.8   item; 
  2.9      (ii) be given a grade of incomplete and be allowed to 
  2.10  complete the course upon release from active duty under the 
  2.11  post-secondary institution's standard practice for completion of 
  2.12  incompletes; or 
  2.13     (iii) continue and complete the course for full credit.  
  2.14  Class sessions the student misses due to performance of state or 
  2.15  federal active military service must be counted as excused 
  2.16  absences and must not be used in any way to adversely impact the 
  2.17  student's grade or standing in the class.  Any student who 
  2.18  selects this option is not, however, automatically excused from 
  2.19  completing assignments due during the period the student is 
  2.20  performing state or federal active military service.  A letter 
  2.21  grade or a grade of pass must only be awarded if, in the opinion 
  2.22  of the faculty member teaching the course, the student has 
  2.23  completed sufficient work and has demonstrated sufficient 
  2.24  progress toward meeting course requirements to justify the 
  2.25  grade; 
  2.26     (2) to receive a refund of amounts paid for room, board, 
  2.27  and fees attributable to the time period during which the 
  2.28  student was serving in state or federal active military service 
  2.29  and did not use the facilities or services for which the amounts 
  2.30  were paid.  Any refund of room, board, and fees is subject to 
  2.31  the requirements of the state or federal financial aid programs 
  2.32  of origination; and 
  2.33     (3) if the student chooses to withdraw, the student has the 
  2.34  right to be readmitted and reenrolled as a student at the 
  2.35  post-secondary education institution, without penalty or 
  2.36  redetermination of admission eligibility, within one year 
  3.1   following release from the state or federal active military 
  3.2   service. 
  3.3      (b) The protections in this section may be invoked as 
  3.4   follows: 
  3.5      (1) the person, or an appropriate officer from the military 
  3.6   organization in which the person will be serving, must give 
  3.7   advance verbal or written notice that the person is being called 
  3.8   or ordered to qualifying service; 
  3.9      (2) advance notice is not required if the giving of notice 
  3.10  is precluded by military necessity or, under all the relevant 
  3.11  circumstances, the giving of notice is impossible or 
  3.12  unreasonable; and 
  3.13     (3) upon written request from the post-secondary 
  3.14  institution, the person must provide written verification of 
  3.15  service. 
  3.16     (c) This section provides minimum protections for students. 
  3.17  Nothing in this section prevents post-secondary institutions 
  3.18  from providing additional options or protections to students who 
  3.19  are called or ordered to state or federal active military 
  3.20  service. 
  3.21     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.22     Sections 1 and 2 are effective retroactive to September 11, 
  3.23  2001.