State Guard or State Reserve: Another Way to Get Tuition Reimbursement

[KayV]

Are you in the TXSG, Sanantone? What is it like?

[sanantone]

Not yet. I just started the process.

[boalex207]

Hey, they left off Lifeguards!

and coroners!

[clep3705]

Why is State Tuition Assistance limited to only 30 Members of the Texas State Guard?

It’s a statutory requirement that can only be changed by the Texas Legislature.

https://tmd.texas.gov/state-tuition-assistance-program

c) The adjutant general shall grant assistance for tuition and mandatory fees under this section to eligible service members, in an amount not to exceed the amount provided in the General Appropriations Act. The adjutant general may apportion the number of assistance awards among the components of the Texas military forces necessary to meet the recruitment and retention needs of those components. The number of assistance awards made to members of the Texas State Guard may not exceed 30 for any semester unless the adjutant general finds a compelling need for additional awards to members of the Texas State Guard.

GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 437. TEXAS MILITARY

Even if a compelling need could be found to provide more than 30 tuition awards, where is the adjutant general going to find the money? With limited funds, it seems like the very few awards would go to longstanding loyal members of the Texas State Guard instead of a newcomer. Since this is at the command staff's discretion, would they chose a younger, financially struggling person instead of someone with an abundance of education?

[sanantone]

Excuse any typos. Of course it's a statutory limitation. Texas' education funding for the National Guard is also low, and they're thinking about cutting funding for the Hazelwood Act (funding education for the children of veterans). So, the question is why does the legislature spend so little?

Actually, those who are facing a hardship are prioritized for funding. I believe that those who don't already have a bachelor's degree are also prioritized. There is also a scholarship at some state universities that cover 4 years of tuition if the student joins the Texas National Guard or Texas State Guard after graduating.

[clep3705]

If you want to join TXSG because it's something you want to do, good for you. I can't see anybody joining in the hopes of obtaining tuition assistance because the odds of receiving any are so low.

[sanantone]

If you want to join TXSG because it's something you want to do, good for you. I can't see anybody joining in the hopes of obtaining tuition assistance because the odds of receiving any are so low.

Most people join because they want to volunteer, but this thread is not only about the Texas State Guard. I covered California which offers tuition assistance to all its state military reserves and Mississippi which offers free police, EMT, and firefighter training. A Texas state representative or senator did try to present a bill that would give free tuition to all TXSG, but it didn't go anywhere. Public universities in Texas are already not getting enough funding from the state to cover the Hazelwood Act and free tuition for peace officers and firefighters. Texas seems to always be having funding issues; it's just dumb to me that they meet every two years. Off topic, but Texas' funding issues have cost lives. Due to Child Protective Services being underfunded, the foster care system was ruled unconstitutional and almost 100 children with open CPS cases died last year. This state is so cheap that they let this problem go on for years. This state only pretends to care about public safety, veterans, and children.

[dfrecore]

Most people join because they want to volunteer, but this thread is not only about the Texas State Guard. I covered California which offers tuition assistance to all its state military reserves and Mississippi which offers free police, EMT, and firefighter training. A Texas state representative or senator did try to present a bill that would give free tuition to all TXSG, but it didn't go anywhere. Public universities in Texas are already not getting enough funding from the state to cover the Hazelwood Act and free tuition for peace officers and firefighters. Texas seems to always be having funding issues; it's just dumb to me that they meet every two years. Off topic, but Texas' funding issues have cost lives. Due to Child Protective Services being underfunded, the foster care system was ruled unconstitutional and almost 100 children with open CPS cases died last year. This state is so cheap that they let this problem go on for years. This state only pretends to care about public safety, veterans, and children.

Ah, well, you should live in CA. Our representatives are year-round, so the state is PERFECT! Flush with money, no waste, no problems with CPS...the perfection just goes on and on. It's delightful.

[sanantone]

Ah, well, you should live in CA. Our representatives are year-round, so the state is PERFECT! Flush with money, no waste, no problems with CPS...the perfection just goes on and on. It's delightful.

California's problems stem from different issues. Besides, California has county CPS agencies. Texas does not have county CPS agencies. Because the Texas legislature only meets every other year, it does not always know when it is going to have a budget shortfall or how much it is going to be. By the time they get to something, they have to make drastic budget cuts. Emergency funding had to be put together while the legislature was not in session after a court ruled that our foster care system was unconstitutional. The state had children sleeping in hotels and CPS offices because they didn't have anywhere to put them. Texas' spending on child protective services is low in comparison to other states. I'm sure there are plenty of other states that have their legislatures meet every year, and they run perfectly fine.

I don't think people quite understand how bad things have gotten with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. It just might be the worst state-operated child protective services agency in the country. In one two-month period last year, over 3,000 children with open cases were not seen. Almost 700 of those cases were documented as being urgent. In other words, the children were potentially in imminent danger of being injured or dying from abuse or neglect. Bringing up California does not change the fact that Texas has horribly mismanaged its child protective services agency, and it's going to cost Texas taxpayers hundreds of millions to correct the problem because the state waited until the last minute to address the problem.

[clep3705]

It just might be the worst state-operated child protective services agency in the country.

Worst funded, that's probably true, yes, I'll agree with that. How many child abuse reports have you filed? My most recent filing was last month on an urgent case. They did an awesome job for which I give them credit and high praise. You won't be reading about how professional they were because the case is confidential.