On June 4, just two days after the Texas Legislature came to a close, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the State of Texas over the 2001 law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. This came after House Bill 232 and Senate Bill 1798, two bills limiting pathways for undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, died in the legislative session. Attorney General Ken Paxton was swift to concede to the DOJ’s case and urged the courts to side with the federal government and declare the law unconstitutional.
This decision does not come without an equally swift response from advocates and experts. Representative Donna Howard, who serves as the Vice-Chair for the House Committee on Higher Education, released a joint letter with other Democratic House representatives calling on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to protect undocumented students’ access to in-state tuition. This letter asks Dr. Wynn Rosser, the Commissioner of the THECB, to create a provisional classification to grandfather in currently enrolled or admitted undocumented students and allow them to pay the tuition rate they expected before the court ruling.
Further, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed a motion against the court ruling, citing “an unprecedented attempt through executive and state power, preventing a chance for public consideration or input.” This motion, filed on behalf of Students for Affordable Tuition, also emphasizes the human impact of the court ruling: a third-year biomedical science student at UT Rio Grande Valley will no longer be able to attend medical school, a Master’s of Science student in clinical mental-health counseling at the University of North Texas will be forced to drop out, and a Master of Education student at the University of Houston will no longer be able to pursue her doctoral degree. These are only three stories of the hundreds more students who will be impacted by the DOJ’s lawsuit, and the thousands more students who will not have an equitable opportunity to pursue higher education.
Universities and colleges have not published any official communication on how they plan to move forward with this abrupt change, and with the MALDEF motion, there is still uncertainty for the future of undocumented students. Texas AFT stands strongly against the repeal of the Texas DREAM Act, and will continue to monitor this situation closely and support our higher education community. You can take action and support the demands in Rep. Donna Howard’s letter here.