THECB says $364 million request targets student aid; multiple bills would alter residency pathway
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Summary
John White of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reported to FAAC that the board requested roughly $364 million in exceptional items to expand financial aid; multiple bills were introduced this session that could restrict eligibility for state aid by changing the residency pathway for students.
John White, senior director for government relations at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, told the Financial Aid Advisory Committee that the coordinating board’s exceptional item request to the Legislature seeks roughly $364,000,000 to support student financial aid programs.
“We have requested an additional, about $364,000,000 to fund financial aid,” White said, describing a package with multiple components intended to increase access and stabilize awards across programs.
White said the request bundles funding across a number of programs and objectives: expanding awards to serve roughly 70% of eligible students in Texas grant programs (Texas Grant, TEOG and TEG), proposing to guarantee Texas Grant and TEOG funding for top‑25% students who transfer from community colleges to universities, raising the Texas Armed Services Scholarship maximum award and funding to support the Texas Leadership Research Scholars, among other elements.
White also briefed committee members on active legislation affecting financial aid. He identified several bills introduced this session: SB 43 (Sen. Zafarani) to establish a Texas Promise Grant at two‑ and four‑year institutions; HB 2652 (Rep. Bojani) to create a promise program limited to two‑year institutions; SB 44 (Sen. Zafarani, refiled) to reestablish the Texas Beyond Time program; and SB 186 (Sen. Menendez) to create a scholarship for Texas students with disabilities. He said there are also bills to extend FAST program eligibility to private and home‑schooled students.
White told the committee he was watching “at least 10 bills” that would repeal or materially change the statutory residency pathway that currently can allow a student who graduated from a Texas high school and attended that high school for the 36 months prior to graduation to qualify for Texas residency for aid. “There have been I mean, there's at least 10 bills, that would, either repeal that pathway or otherwise, be very clear that individuals who are not lawfully in this country, are not able to access, our state financial aid programs,” he said.
White said the session’s filing deadline was approaching and that committee hearings will intensify through March, April and May. He described a standard legislative process and said the house appropriations work group left the exceptional item request pending for later consideration as committees evaluate competing funding priorities.
Committee members asked whether the volume of residency‑related bills made passage likely; White said he could not predict committee or leadership decisions but confirmed “this is a topic that is of very high interest in many many members of the legislature.”
White encouraged FAAC members to monitor bills and reach out to government‑relations offices for analysis and discussion as the session proceeds.
