79R171 KEL-D
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1528
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the payment of tuition and fees at public institutions
of higher education and the determination of Texas residency for
that purpose.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 54.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 54.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Discretionary fee" means a fee authorized by this
chapter that an institution of higher education may elect to charge
and that if charged must be charged to all students, other than
students who are exempt from the fee. The term does not include an
incidental fee.
(3) "Fee" means a charge that an institution of higher
education imposes on a student for goods or services, including a
charge for materials or supplies or for room, board, or other use of
housing or educational facilities provided by the institution. The
term includes a charge imposed on a student for enrollment in a
course for which the institution does not receive formula funding
under Section 61.059. The term does not include a charge imposed on
a student for enrollment in a course for which the institution
receives formula funding.
(4) "Governing board" has the meaning assigned by
Section 61.003.
(5) "Incidental fee" means a fee authorized by this
chapter that an institution of higher education may charge only to a
student, other than a student who is exempt from the fee, who uses
the service or item for which the fee is established.
(6) "Institution of higher education" has the [same]
meaning [as is] assigned [to it] by Section 61.003 [of this code].
(7) "Mandatory fee" means a fee that an institution of
higher education is required by this chapter to charge to all
students who are not exempt from the fee.
(8) "Matriculation fee" means tuition or a mandatory
or discretionary fee.
(9) "Session fee" means tuition or a mandatory or
discretionary fee.
(10) "Tuition" means a charge that an institution of
higher education imposes on a student for enrollment in a course for
which the institution receives formula funding under Section
61.059.
(11) "Tuition fee" means tuition or a mandatory or
discretionary fee.
[(2) "Governing board" has the same meaning as is
assigned to it by Section 61.003 of this code.]
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 54.0501 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.0501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Census date" means the date in an academic term on
which an institution of higher education is required to certify a
student's enrollment to the coordinating board for purposes of
determining formula funding for the institution.
(2) "Dependent" means a person who:
(A) is less than 18 years of age and has not been
emancipated by marriage or court order; or
(B) as provided by coordinating board rule:
(i) is eligible to be claimed as a dependent
of a parent of the person for purposes of determining the parent's
income tax liability under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
(ii) is eligible to have the income of a
parent of the person used as a factor in a determination made by a
local, state, or federal governmental agency regarding whether the
person is eligible, based on financial need, to receive a
scholarship, loan, grant, or other financial educational
assistance.
(3) "Domicile" means a person's principal, permanent
residence to which the person intends to return after any temporary
absence.
(4) "Nonresident tuition" means the amount of tuition
paid by a person who is not a resident of this state and who is not
entitled or permitted to pay resident tuition under this
subchapter.
(5) "Parent" means a natural or adoptive parent,
managing or possessory conservator, or legal guardian of a person.
(6) "Residence" means a person's home or other
dwelling place.
(7) "Resident tuition" means the amount of tuition
paid by a person who is a resident of this state.
SECTION 3. Sections 54.052, 54.053, 54.054, 54.055, 54.056,
and 54.057, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 54.052. DETERMINATION OF RESIDENT STATUS. (a)
Subject to the other applicable provisions of this subchapter
governing the determination of resident status, the following
persons are considered residents of this state for tuition
purposes:
(1) a person who:
(A) established a domicile in this state not
later than one year before the census date of the academic term in
which the person is enrolled in an institution of higher education;
and
(B) maintained that domicile continuously for
the year preceding that census date;
(2) a dependent whose parent:
(A) established a domicile in this state not
later than one year before the census date of the academic term in
which the dependent is enrolled in an institution of higher
education; and
(B) maintained that domicile continuously for
the year preceding that census date; and
(3) a person who:
(A) graduated from a public or private high
school in this state or received the equivalent of a high school
diploma in this state; and
(B) maintained a residence continuously in this
state for:
(i) the three years preceding the date of
graduation or receipt of the diploma equivalent, as applicable; and
(ii) the year preceding the census date of
the academic term in which the person is enrolled in an institution
of higher education.
(b) For purposes of this section, the domicile of a
dependent's parent is presumed to be the domicile of the dependent
unless the person establishes eligibility for resident status under
Subsection (a)(3). [RESIDENTS; NONRESIDENTS; GENERAL RULES. (a)
In this subchapter:
[(1) "Residence" means "domicile."
[(2) "Resided in" means "domiciled in."
[(3) "Dependent" means an individual who is claimed as
a dependent for federal income tax purposes by the individual's
parent or guardian at the time of registration and for the tax year
preceding the year in which the individual registers.
[(b) For the purposes of this subchapter, the status of a
student as a resident or nonresident student is determined as
prescribed by this section, subject to the other applicable
provisions of this subchapter.
[(c) An individual who is under 18 years of age or is a
dependent and who is living away from his family and whose family
resides in another state or has not resided in Texas for the
12-month period immediately preceding the date of registration
shall be classified as a nonresident student.
[(d) An individual who is 18 years of age or under or is a
dependent and whose family has not resided in Texas for the 12-month
period immediately preceding the date of registration shall be
classified as a nonresident student, regardless of whether he has
become the legal ward of residents of Texas or has been adopted by
residents of Texas while he is attending an educational institution
in Texas, or within a 12-month period before his attendance, or
under circumstances indicating that the guardianship or adoption
was for the purpose of obtaining status as a resident student.
[(e) An individual who is 18 years of age or over who has
come from outside Texas and who is gainfully employed in Texas for a
12-month period immediately preceding registration in an
educational institution shall be classified as a resident student
as long as he continues to maintain a legal residence in Texas.
[(f) An individual who is 18 years of age or over who resides
out of the state or who has come from outside Texas and who
registers in an educational institution before having resided in
Texas for a 12-month period shall be classified as a nonresident
student.
[(g) An individual who would have been classified as a
resident for the first five of the six years immediately preceding
registration but who resided in another state for all or part of the
year immediately preceding registration shall be classified as a
resident student.
[(h) An individual who has come from outside Texas and
registered in an educational institution before having resided in
Texas for a 12-month period immediately preceding the date of
registration is entitled to pay the tuition fee and other fees
required of Texas residents if the individual or a member of his
family has located in Texas as an employee of a business or
organization that became established in this state as part of the
program of state economic development and diversification
authorized by the constitution and laws of this state and if the
individual files with the Texas institution of higher education at
which he registers a letter of intent to establish residency in
Texas.
[(i) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules allowing a homeless individual, as defined by 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 11302, who resides in Texas for the 12-month period
immediately preceding the date of registration but who does not
have a permanent residence to be classified as a resident student
only for purposes of vocational education courses at public junior
colleges.
[(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subchapter, an individual shall be classified as a Texas resident
until the individual establishes a residence outside this state if
the individual resided with the individual's parent, guardian, or
conservator while attending a public or private high school in this
state and:
[(1) graduated from a public or private high school or
received the equivalent of a high school diploma in this state;
[(2) resided in this state for at least three years as
of the date the person graduated from high school or received the
equivalent of a high school diploma;
[(3) registers as an entering student in an
institution of higher education not earlier than the 2001 fall
semester; and
[(4) provides to the institution an affidavit stating
that the individual will file an application to become a permanent
resident at the earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to
do so.]
Sec. 54.053. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH RESIDENT
STATUS. To establish resident status for tuition purposes, a
person shall submit the following information to an institution of
higher education:
(1) if the person applies for resident status under
Section 54.052(a)(1):
(A) a statement of the dates and length of time
the person has resided in this state, as relevant to establish
resident status under this subchapter; and
(B) a statement by the person that the person's
presence in this state for that period was for a purpose of
establishing and maintaining a domicile;
(2) if the person applies for resident status under
Section 54.052(a)(2):
(A) a statement of the dates and length of time
any parent of the person has resided in this state, as relevant to
establish resident status under this subchapter; and
(B) a statement by the parent or, if the parent is
unable or unwilling to provide the statement, a statement by the
person that the parent's presence in this state for that period was
for a purpose of establishing and maintaining a domicile; or
(3) if the person applies for resident status under
Section 54.052(a)(3), a statement of the dates and length of time
the person has resided in this state, as relevant to establish
resident status under this subchapter. [REGULATIONS OF
COORDINATING BOARD. The governing board of each institution
required by this chapter to charge a nonresident tuition or
registration fee is subject to the rules, regulations, and
interpretations issued by the Coordinating Board, Texas College and
University System, for the administration of the nonresident
tuition provisions of this subchapter. The rules, regulations, and
interpretations promulgated by the coordinating board shall be
furnished to the presidents or administrative heads of all Texas
public senior and junior colleges and universities.]
Sec. 54.054. CONTINUING RESIDENT STATUS. (a) Except as
otherwise provided by Subsection (c) of this section or by Section
54.055 or 54.056, a person classified by an institution of higher
education as a resident of this state under this subchapter is
entitled, without submitting the information required by Section
54.053, to be classified as a resident by that institution in each
subsequent academic term in which the person enrolls.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c) of this
section or by Section 54.055 or 54.056, a person classified by an
institution of higher education as a resident is entitled, without
submitting the information required by Section 54.053 to the
subsequent institution, to be classified as a resident by another
institution of higher education in which the person subsequently
enrolls.
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a person who
enrolls in an institution of higher education after two or more
consecutive regular semesters during which the person is not
enrolled in an institution of higher education. To be classified as
a resident on that enrollment, the person must submit the
information required by Section 54.053 and satisfy all applicable
requirements to establish resident status. If the person is
classified as a resident on that enrollment, Subsections (a) and
(b) apply to the person in a subsequent academic term. [NONRESIDENT
STATUS: PRESUMPTION; RECLASSIFICATION. A nonresident student
classification is presumed to be correct as long as the residence of
the individual in the state is primarily for the purpose of
attending an educational institution. After residing in Texas for
at least 12 months, a nonresident student may be reclassified as a
resident student as provided in the rules and regulations adopted
by the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System.
Any individual reclassified as a resident student is entitled to
pay the tuition fee for a resident of Texas at any subsequent
registration as long as he continues to maintain his legal
residence in Texas. Before February 15, 1972, the Coordinating
Board, Texas College and University System, shall promulgate such
rules and regulations.]
Sec. 54.055. RECLASSIFICATION BASED ON ADDITIONAL OR
CHANGED INFORMATION. (a) On the basis of additional or changed
information, an institution of higher education may reclassify as a
resident or nonresident of this state under this subchapter a
person who has previously been classified as a resident or
nonresident under this subchapter.
(b) A reclassification does not apply to an academic term if
the reclassification is made on or after the census date of that
term. [PARENTS, CHANGE OF RESIDENCE TO ANOTHER STATE. An
individual who is 18 years of age or under or is a dependent and
whose parents were formerly residents of Texas is entitled to pay
the resident tuition fee following the parents' change of legal
residence to another state, as long as the individual remains
continuously enrolled in a regular session in a state-supported
institution of higher education.]
Sec. 54.056. ERRORS IN CLASSIFICATION. (a) If an
institution of higher education erroneously classifies a person as
a resident of this state and the person is not entitled or permitted
to pay resident tuition under this subchapter, the institution of
higher education shall charge nonresident tuition to the person
beginning with the first academic term that begins after the date
the institution discovers the error. Not earlier than the first day
of that term, regardless of whether the person is still enrolled at
the institution, the institution may request the person to pay the
difference between resident and nonresident tuition for an earlier
term as permitted by Section 54.057. For nonpayment of the amount
owed, the institution may impose sanctions only as provided by that
section. The institution may not require payment as a condition for
any subsequent enrollment by the person in the institution.
(b) Regardless of the reason for the error, if an
institution of higher education erroneously classifies a person as
a nonresident of this state, the institution shall charge resident
tuition to the person beginning with the academic term in which the
institution discovers the error. The institution immediately shall
refund to the person the amount of tuition the person paid in excess
of resident tuition for that term but is not required to refund an
amount paid in excess of resident tuition for an earlier term.
[EFFECT OF MARRIAGE. A student who is a resident of Texas and who
marries a nonresident is entitled to pay the resident tuition fee as
long as the student does not adopt the legal residence of the spouse
in another state.]
Sec. 54.057. LIABILITY FOR UNPAID NONRESIDENT TUITION. (a)
The following persons are liable for the difference between
resident and nonresident tuition for each academic term in which
the person pays resident tuition as the result of an erroneous
classification under this subchapter:
(1) a person who, in a timely manner after the
information becomes available or on request by the institution of
higher education, fails to provide to the institution information
that the person reasonably should know would be relevant to an
accurate classification by the institution under this subchapter;
or
(2) a person who provides false information to the
institution that the person reasonably should know could lead to an
erroneous classification by the institution under this subchapter.
(b) The person shall pay the applicable amount to the
institution not later than the 30th day after the date the person is
notified of the person's liability for the amount owed. After
receiving the notice and until the amount is paid in full, the
person is not entitled to receive from the institution a
certificate or diploma, if not yet awarded on the date of the
notice, or official transcript that is based at least partially on
or includes credit for courses taken while the person was
erroneously classified as a resident of this state.
(c) A person who is erroneously classified as a resident of
this state under this subchapter but who is entitled or permitted to
pay resident tuition under this subchapter is not liable for the
difference between resident and nonresident tuition under this
section. [ALIENS. (a) An alien who is living in this country under
a visa permitting permanent residence or who has applied to or has a
petition pending with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to
attain lawful status under federal immigration law has the same
privilege of qualifying for resident status for tuition and fee
purposes under this subchapter as has a citizen of the United
States. A resident alien residing in a junior college district
located immediately adjacent to Texas boundary lines shall be
charged the resident tuition by that junior college.
[(b) A nonimmigrant alien who resides in this state in
accordance with the Agreement between the Parties to the North
Atlantic Treaty Regarding the Status of Their Forces (4 U.S.T.
1792) and the spouse or children of such an alien are residents for
tuition and fee purposes under this code.]
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 54.073 and 54.074 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.073. DISCRETIONARY WAIVERS OF NONRESIDENT TUITION
LIMITED. (a) For any academic term, the number of students
classified as nonresidents of this state for whom an institution of
higher education waives the payment of nonresident tuition and
allows the payment of resident tuition as permitted by state law may
not exceed five percent of the total number of students classified
as nonresidents of this state who were enrolled at the institution
during the same academic term in the preceding academic year. For
purposes of this subsection, the total number of nonresident
students who were enrolled at the institution in the preceding
academic year is computed regardless of whether those students were
entitled or permitted to pay resident tuition under this subchapter
at that time.
(b) This section does not limit the number of students
classified as nonresidents of this state who are entitled by state
law to pay resident tuition under this subchapter for any academic
term.
Sec. 54.074. COORDINATING BOARD RULES; SUPPLEMENTATION OF
RULES BY INSTITUTIONS LIMITED. (a) The coordinating board shall
adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.
(b) An institution of higher education may not require a
person to provide evidence of resident status that is not required
by coordinating board rule.
SECTION 5. Section 54.007, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) The governing board shall require a student who elects
to pay tuition and fees by installment under this section to enter
into a written agreement reflecting the terms and conditions
required by this section.
SECTION 6. Section 54.051(m), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(m) Unless the student establishes residency or is entitled
or permitted to pay resident tuition as provided by this subchapter
[Section 54.052(j) or 54.057], tuition for a student who is a
citizen of any country other than the United States of America is
the same as the tuition required of other nonresident students.
SECTION 7. Section 54.621(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of Subchapter B [Section
54.052(d)], the tuition and required fees charged by an institution
of higher education for semester hours and fees that are paid for by
a prepaid tuition contract shall be determined as if the
beneficiary of that contract were a resident student.
SECTION 8. Sections 54.062, 54.066, 54.067, 54.068, 54.071,
and 54.072, Education Code, are transferred from Subchapter B,
Chapter 54, Education Code, to Subchapter A, Chapter 54, Education
Code, renumbered as Sections 54.011, 54.012, 54.013, 54.014,
54.015, and 54.016, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 54.011 [54.062]. TUITION LIMIT IN CASES OF CONCURRENT
ENROLLMENT. When a student registers at more than one public
institution of higher education at the same time, his tuition
charges shall be determined in the following manner:
(1) The student shall pay the full tuition charge to
the first institution at which he is registered; and in any event
he shall pay an amount at least equal to the minimum tuition
specified in this code.
(2) If the minimum tuition specified in this code for
the first institution at which the student is registered is equal to
or greater than the minimum tuition specified in this code for the
second institution at which the student is registered concurrently,
the student shall not be required to pay the specified minimum
tuition charge to the second institution in addition to the tuition
charge paid to the first institution, but shall pay only the hourly
rates, as provided in this code, to the second institution.
(3) If the minimum tuition specified in this code for
the first institution at which the student is registered is less
than the specified minimum tuition charge at the second institution
(that is, if the second institution has a higher minimum tuition
charge specified in this code), then the student shall first
register at the institution having the lower minimum tuition and
shall pay to the second institution only the amount equal to the
difference between his total tuition charge at the second
institution and his total tuition charge at the first institution,
but in no case shall the student pay to the second institution less
than the hourly rates as provided in this code.
(4) If a student is considered to be a Texas resident
and therefore qualified to pay Texas resident tuition rates by one
institution at which he is registered, that student shall be
considered a Texas resident at each of the institutions at which he
is concurrently registered for the purposes of determining the
proper tuition charges. Nothing in this subsection shall be so
construed as to allow a nonresident to pay resident tuition except
at institutions covered by Section 54.060 of this code.
Sec. 54.012 [54.066]. TUITION RATES FOR CERTAIN DOCTORAL
STUDENTS. The governing board of an institution of higher
education may charge a resident doctoral student who has more
semester credit hours of doctoral work than allowed for purposes of
state funding for the current state fiscal biennium under Section
61.059(l) tuition at the rate charged nonresident doctoral
students. Tuition charged at the rate provided by this section
shall be accounted for as if collected under Section 54.008.
Sec. 54.013 [54.067]. STUDENTS 55 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. (a)
An institution of higher education may charge a student 55 years of
age or older tuition and fees at rates that are lower than the rates
otherwise provided by this chapter, under the condition that a
student under 55 years of age will not be precluded from enrolling
in a course for credit toward a degree or certificate. The
institution may set additional qualifications that a student must
meet to qualify for tuition and fees at rates set under this section
and may set different rates for different programs, campuses, or
courses. The institution may set rates under this section for
resident students, nonresident students, or both, and may set
different rates for resident students and nonresident students.
(b) A tuition or fee rate set under this section must apply
uniformly to each student that meets the applicable qualifications
set by the institution to pay tuition or fees at that rate.
(c) The legislature in an appropriations act shall account
for the rates authorized by Subsection (a) in a way that does not
increase the general revenue appropriations to that institution.
Sec. 54.014 [54.068]. TUITION FOR EXCESSIVE UNDERGRADUATE
HOURS. (a) An institution of higher education may charge a
resident undergraduate student tuition at a higher rate than the
rate charged to other resident undergraduate students, not to
exceed the rate charged to nonresident undergraduate students, if
before the semester or other academic session begins the student
has previously attempted a number of semester credit hours for
courses taken at any institution of higher education while
classified as a resident student for tuition purposes that exceeds
by at least 45 hours the number of semester credit hours required
for completion of the degree program in which the student is
enrolled. For purposes of this subsection, an undergraduate
student who is not enrolled in a degree program is considered to be
enrolled in a degree program requiring a minimum of 120 semester
credit hours.
(b) Semester credit hours or other credit listed in Section
61.0595(d) is not counted in determining the number of semester
credit hours previously attempted by a student for purposes of
Subsection (a).
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to the tuition charged to
a student who initially enrolled as an undergraduate student in an
institution of higher education before the 1999 fall semester.
(d) In its appropriations to institutions of higher
education, the legislature shall compute the local funds available
to each institution as if the tuition collected under Subsection
(a) were not collected.
(e) Each institution of higher education shall inform each
new undergraduate student enrolling at the institution in writing
of the limitation provided by this section on the number of hours
that a Texas resident is entitled to complete while paying tuition
at the rate provided for Texas residents.
Sec. 54.015 [54.071]. BILLING AND NOTIFICATION FOR TUITION.
For billing and catalogue purposes, each governing board shall
accumulate all the tuition that it charges under this chapter
[subchapter] into one tuition charge.
Sec. 54.016 [54.072]. FLAT RATE TUITION PILOT PROJECT. (a)
In this section, "tuition" means all academic program costs related
to enrollment in an academic course or degree program that are
charged to a student, including all charges designated as tuition,
mandatory fees, and incidental fees. The term does not include
voluntary fees.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
the board of regents of The University of Texas System may establish
a pilot project at The University of Texas at Austin involving not
more than two colleges or degree programs designated by the board of
regents under which the university charges the same amount of
tuition to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or
degree program included in the pilot project.
(c) The board of regents may not require a full-time student
who pays tuition under the pilot project to pay more tuition than
the average amount of tuition that a student not included in the
pilot project would pay for enrolling in the university for 14
semester credit hours for the same semester or term.
(d) The board of regents shall evaluate the effect of flat
rate tuition charged under the pilot project on the number of
semester credit hours taken by students included in the project
each semester. The board shall report the results of the evaluation
to the legislature not later than December 31, 2002, and December
31, 2004.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2005.
SECTION 9. Sections 54.0521, 54.0551, and 54.061, Education
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 10. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2006 fall semester.
Tuition and fees charged for a semester or session before the 2006
fall semester are governed by the applicable law in effect before
the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt the rules required by Section 54.074, Education Code, as
added by this Act, not later than January 1, 2006.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.