S.R. 2213 A Resolution in Support of Protecting In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students at Texas Public Colleges and Universities

Texas House Bill (H.B.) 1403, the Texas Dream Act, was signed into law on June 16, 2001. This law provides undocumented high school graduates (including DACA recipients) access to in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. Passed with bipartisan majorities in both the Texas House and Senate and a Republican governor, this policy sets the criteria for how undocumented students in Texas can receive in-state tuition. Texas is one of 23 states along with D.C. who have created this eligibility, and more than 58,000 undocumented students in Texas are currently pursuing higher education in the state.
In July of 2021, the Young Conservatives of Texas Foundation filed a lawsuit against Neal Smatresk and Shannon Goodman, the President and Vice President of the University of North Texas (UNT). The plaintiffs are suing UNT for charging out-of-state U.S. citizens out-of-state tuition, while undocumented students are eligible for in-state tuition, as required by state law. The central argument the YCT Foundation makes is that it is unfair to charge out-of-state U.S. citizens out-of-state tuition rates, which will likely have significant implications for the future of the 2001 law. In April of 2022, a federal judge in Texas ruled against UNT. UNT lawyers have appealed the decision, and a decision is expected to come soon from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
This Senate Resolution will provide the following: (1) affirm that the Senate stands in solidarity with the Executive Branch of the UNT Student Government Association, and supports the preservation of the 2001 Texas Dream Act; (2) Senate recognizes and celebrates the essential contributions of undocumented students to the University of Texas at Austin community; (3) in the event that the 2001 Texas Dream Act established by HB 1403 is reversed, the Senate should create a College Tuition and Budget Advisory Committee (CTBAC) to make recommendations for how the University of Texas at Austin can address matters of affordability and tuition for undocumented students. The resolution also requires that the CTBAC have undocumented student participation, and work in close consultation with organizations that support undocumented students at the University.