Texas Gov. Abbott refuses to support tuition increases at state institutions
Gov. Abbot claims that he will not increase charges due to inflation.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a mid-November letter to state colleges and universities that he will not approve any tuition increase within the next two years.
The Nov. 13 letter was sent after he signed House Bill 1 into law last year and Abbot described the bill as “prohibit[ing] increasing undergraduate tuition and fees for both the 2023-24 and the 2024-25 academic years,” in his letter.
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HB1 also gave additional funding such as “$428 million in formula funding to transition to the new system,” as well as, “$78.6 million for the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program, through which economically disadvantaged students can participate in dual credit or dual enrollment courses at no cost,” and “$15 million increase for the existing Comprehensive Research Fund, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
In his letter, Gov. Abbott writes that he made the decision to not increase tuition charges because “Texans face significant rising costs due to inflation,” and that “when inflation and other economic pressures burden household budgets, our public universities must take every step possible to ease the financial burden on our students and their families.”
“My office has spoken to the Board of Regents at every public university system, and we are in agreement that no institution in Texas should approve tuition increases for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic school years,” Abbott’s letter continued.
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In 2023, Texas universities such as Texas A&M, University of Houston and University of North Texas (UNT) proposed almost $1 billion in funding for higher education in exchange for keeping tuition flat for undergraduate students over the next two years, according to The Texas Tribune.
Campus Reform has reached out to Gov. Abbott’s office and UNT. This article will be updated accordingly.
