LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE 74th Regular Session April 25, 1995 TO: Honorable Bill Ratliff, Chair, Chair IN RE: Senate BillNo. 1491 Committee on Education By: Shapiro Senate Austin, Texas FROM: John Keel, Director In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on Senate Bill No. 1491 (Relating to testing and remedial education of students 55 years of age or older and to tuition and fees charged to those students at public institutions of higher education) this office has determined the following: The bill would exempt a resident or nonresident student 55 years of age or older from the Texas Academic Skills Program (testing and remediation). It would also allow public institutions of higher education to charge such students tuition which is lower than the tuition rates set in statute. The lowered tuition could be different for different courses of study, but rates would be applied consistently to all students 55 or older. If Fall 1994 there were 3,884 students 55 years or older attending public community colleges. Those students were enrolled in an average of five semester credit hours. During the same semester, 2,128 students 55 years or older were attending public senior colleges enrolled in an average of six semester credit hours. It is anticipated that exempting students 55 or older from the Texas Academic Skills Program will have no significant fiscal implications to the State or units of local government. While offering variable reduced tuition for students 55 years and older would result in a loss of tuition income and could result in more students attending public institutions, since the bill would allow institutions to do so but would not require reduced tuition, the fiscal implications cannot be determined. Given the relatively small number of students and semester credit hours potentially affected by the bill, it is anticipated that any fiscal implications would be insignificant. Source: Higher Education Coordinating Board LBB Staff: JK, MK, WRR