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Senate panel hears support for bill to remove age cap on foster‑care college tuition waiver
Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses told the Senate Committee on Education that House Bill 12 11 would remove an age limit that prevents some former foster youth from using a state tuition and fee waiver; witnesses described how the waiver changed lives and urged the committee to move the bill forward. Public testimony closed and the bill was left pending.
Sen. Menendez laid out House Bill 12 11 and said the measure would remove an age deadline that currently limits when former foster youth can use a state tuition and fee waiver to attend public colleges and universities.
The bill drew supportive testimony from advocates and people who used the waiver. Sarah Crockett, director of public policy for Texas CASA, told the committee the change was a joint recommendation of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Department of Family and Protective Services and “this bill is gonna change people’s lives.”
Timothy Belseth, testifying in support as a beneficiary of the waiver, described the waiver as a “life changing opportunity” that helped him graduate college, gain employment and later serve on the Family and Protective Services Council. He and other witnesses said many former foster youth do not immediately use the waiver because of housing, transportation or missing documents, and therefore miss the current deadline.
Sierra Lynn Astran, who said she recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and plans to apply to medical school, testified that the waiver made her education possible and urged lawmakers to extend eligibility so other former foster youth have the same chance.
Committee members questioned the bill’s likely fiscal impact. Senator King and others noted the Legislative Budget Board’s fiscal note said a fiscal effect could not be determined for lack of data on how many additional people would use the waiver if the age limit were removed. Senator Menendez and witnesses said roughly 3,000 former foster youth use the waiver annually and that only about one‑third of eligible former foster youth activate the waiver within seven years of emancipation.
Public testimony closed and the committee left House Bill 12 11 pending subject to the call of the chair.
Why it matters: Supporters said the bill would align treatment of youth adopted from foster care (who have no age limit) with those who age out, and give vulnerable young adults more time to pursue postsecondary credentials once they are ready.
