(Texas Scorecard) – The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted new rules prohibiting public colleges and universities from providing in-state tuition rates to individuals not lawfully present in the United States.
The rule changes, recommended by the Innovation, Data, and Educational Analytics committee Wednesday, require all applicants for resident tuition status to prove their lawful presence in the U.S. as defined by federal law.
Under current federal court rulings, DACA recipients are not considered lawfully present in the United States and therefore do not qualify for in‑state tuition in Texas.
In the rule changes the board considered, students who wrongly qualify for lower in-state tuition at public colleges or universities must repay the difference if they hid key facts they “reasonably should have known” could change their status, “knowingly” lied about details that led to the mistake, or if the school uncovers the error on its own. They have 30 days from the school’s notice to pay up. Until they do, the school can hold back diplomas, certificates, or transcripts for classes taken during the mix-up—unless federal rules say otherwise.
At Thursday’s full board meeting, staff proposed removing “knowingly,” because it is redundant and that the change better aligns with statutes. The board approved this along with the rest of the rule changes regarding resident tuition.
The new rules also include a board note regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. “While it is beyond the role of the Coordinating Board to attempt to provide a comprehensive definition of lawful presence, applicable case law and federal orders indicate that DACA recipients are not lawfully present and thus ineligible to receive the benefit of Texas resident tuition on that basis.” The committee stated that “each institution of higher education is required to comply with federal court rulings in making determinations of lawful presence.”
Each institution must now appoint a Resident Status Determination Official, who will maintain records and notify lawfully present students of their duty to apply for permanent residency.
This rule change was necessary to implement a consent agreement Texas reached with the federal government in June that prohibits the state from providing preferential tuition rates to illegal aliens.
Changes adopted in October 2025 will apply to resident status decisions for tuition payments made after the census date of the Fall 2025 regular semester, which means they will take effect in the spring. Resident status determinations before that date will follow the previous rules and laws, including any court orders in effect at the time.
Board members and the commissioner are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate.