83R258 KJM-F By: Birdwell S.B. No. 437 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the determination of resident status of students by public institutions of higher education. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 54.052, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a person who is not authorized by law to be present in the United States may not be considered a resident of this state for purposes of this title. SECTION 2. Section 54.055, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an institution of higher education may not, on the basis of Section 54.052(c), reclassify as a nonresident of this state a student classified as a resident under Section 54.052(a)(3) if, not later than the beginning of the 2013-2014 academic year, the student has completed at least 30 semester credit hours at an institution of higher education. SECTION 3. Except as provided by Section 54.055(c), Education Code, as added by this Act, a public institution of higher education in this state may, for any semester or academic term, before the beginning of that semester or academic term, reclassify as a nonresident a student previously classified as a resident of this state by the institution or another public institution of higher education in this state before the enactment of Section 54.052(c), Education Code, as added by this Act, if the student is not authorized by law to be present in the United States. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.