87R2709 CXP-D
 
  By: Hernandez H.B. No. 403
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to exempting certain individuals who are homeless from the
  payment of tuition and fees at public institutions of higher
  education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 54.3671 to read as follows:
         Sec. 54.3671.  EXEMPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOMELESS.  
  (a)  In this section, "individual who is homeless":
               (1)  means an individual who:
                     (A)  lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
  nighttime residence; or
                     (B)  has a primary nighttime residence that is:
                           (i)  a supervised publicly or privately
  operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
  accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
  transitional housing for the mentally ill;
                           (ii)  an institution that provides a
  temporary residence for individuals intended to be
  institutionalized; or
                           (iii)  a public or private place not
  designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
  accommodation for human beings; and
               (2)  does not include an individual who is imprisoned
  or otherwise detained in a correctional facility.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an institution of
  higher education may exempt from the payment of tuition and fees
  authorized in this chapter, including tuition and fees charged for
  a dual credit course or other course for which a high school student
  may earn joint high school and college credit, an individual who is
  homeless if the individual:
               (1)  submits to the institution of higher education not
  later than June 30 of each year, as prescribed by Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board rule, a notarized affidavit:
                     (A)  confirming the individual's status as an
  individual who is homeless from:
                           (i)  a high school or school district
  homeless liaison or other employee of the school district in which
  the individual is enrolled;
                           (ii)  the director of an emergency shelter
  or transitional housing program funded by the United States
  Department of Housing and Urban Development;
                           (iii)  the director of:
                                 (a)  a basic center for runaway and
  homeless youth; or
                                 (b)  a transitional living program;
                           (iv)  a state homeless education counselor,
  if any;
                           (v)  an employee of the National Center for
  Homeless Education;
                           (vi)  a third party, including a private or
  publicly funded homeless shelter or service provider;
                           (vii)  a college financial aid administrator
  other than an administrator employed by the institution of higher
  education;
                           (viii)  an employee from a college access
  program;
                           (ix)  a counselor at a high school the
  individual attended or a college counselor; or
                           (x)  a mental health professional, social
  worker, mentor, physician, or member of the clergy; and
                     (B)  demonstrating financial need as determined
  by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rule; and
               (2)  enrolls in the institution of higher education as
  an undergraduate student or in a dual credit course or other course
  for which a high school student may earn joint high school and
  college credit not later than the individual's 25th birthday.
         (c)  A person may not charge a fee for providing or
  notarizing the affidavit described by Subsection (b).
         (d)  An affidavit described by Subsection (b) may not be used
  for an exemption under this section if the affidavit was signed more
  than 60 days before the date the affidavit is submitted to an
  institution of higher education under Subsection (b).
         (e)  An individual is not eligible for an exemption under
  this section if the individual:
               (1)  has previously received an exemption under this
  section for 10 semesters or summer sessions at any institution or
  institutions of higher education;
               (2)  has received a baccalaureate degree; or
               (3)  is subject to the registration requirements of
  Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
         SECTION 2.  (a) Section 54.3671, Education Code, as added by
  this Act, applies beginning with tuition and fees charged for the
  2022 spring semester.
         (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  adopt rules to implement Section 54.3671, Education Code, as added
  by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this
  Act.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.