89R2715 JTZ-F     By: Menéndez S.B. No. 166       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of   higher education for certain students who were under the   conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective   Services.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 54.366(a) and (c), Education Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (a)  A student is exempt from the payment of tuition and fees   authorized in this chapter, including tuition and fees charged by   an institution of higher education for a dual credit course or other   course for which a high school student may earn joint high school   and college credit, if the student[:                [(1)]  was under the conservatorship of the Department   of Family and Protective Services:                (1) [(A)]  on the day preceding the student's 18th   birthday;                (2) [(B)]  on or after the day of the student's 14th   birthday, if the student was also eligible for adoption on or after   that day;                (3) [(C)]  on the day the student graduated from high   school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma;                (4) [(D)]  on the day preceding:                      (A) [(i)]  the date the student is adopted, if   that date is on or after September 1, 2009; or                      (B) [(ii)]  the date permanent managing   conservatorship of the student is awarded to a person other than the   student's parent, if that date is on or after September 1, 2009; or                (5) [(E)]  during an academic term in which the student   was enrolled in a dual credit course or other course for which a   high school student may earn joint high school and college credit[;   and                [(2)  enrolls in an 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 student's 25th birthday].          (c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a) [(a)(1)], a child who   exits the conservatorship of the Department of Family and   Protective Services and is returned to the child's parent,   including a parent whose parental rights were previously   terminated, may be exempt from the payment of tuition and fees if   the department determines that the child is eligible under   department rule.  The executive commissioner of the Health and   Human Services Commission shall by rule develop factors for   determining eligibility under this subsection in consultation with   the department and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.          SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act to Section   54.366, Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and fees   charged for the 2025 fall semester.  Tuition and fees charged for a   term or semester before the 2025 fall semester are governed by the   law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and   the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2025.