Once again targeting higher ed, Texas lawmakers limited faculty influence, campus speech this session
Lawmakers also approved direct pay for student athletes and sought better pathways from college to the workforce. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b120fb35e44181fe5014f9e18d953f9a/0224%20UNT%20Campus%20ST%20TT%2002.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/2024_Jessica_Priest_2x3_1.jpg)
Jessica Priest covers higher education, working in partnership with Open Campus. She joined the Tribune in 2022 as an engagement reporter in the ProPublica/Texas Tribune joint investigative unit, contributing to a series that was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the explanatory reporting category. Prior to the Tribune, Jessica worked for the Fort Worth Report, USA Today, the Victoria Advocate and the Temple Daily Telegram, reporting on topics that included criminal justice, the environment and local government. Her work has often made an impact. The state’s highest criminal court granted a death row inmate a new trial after she detailed a prosecutor’s conflicts of interest. After she exposed questionable hirings and payments at a port and later a water district in another part of the state, both public entities underwent reforms. Jessica was born in Houston and graduated from Sam Houston State University.
Latest Contributions
-
![Students walk the University of North Texas campus in Denton, TX on Feb. 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
What to know about Texas ending in-state tuition for undocumented students
Some implications of the ruling ordering the policy’s end are still unknown. College access experts urged affected students not to withdraw from school while they assess their options. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2c2db04d4a6c61f0dce367c69f9544c4/UTEP%20MAY19%20JAJ%2008%20TT.jpg)
![Students head to classes at the University of Texas at El Paso on May 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juárez for The Texas Tribune -
Undocumented students rethink their college dreams after Texas cuts their access to cheaper tuition
Thousands of undocumented students who grew up in Texas now face college tuition costs that are more than twice what other state residents pay. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/48972742fc7d38710fbc17cd9cbf69e8/0608%20Undocumented%20Tuition%20SF%20TT%2009.jpg)
![Jorge poses for a portrait on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Lockhart, TX. Jorge had planned on transferring from Austin Community College to Texas State University but cannot afford the out of state tuition. He is planning to take classes through a Mexican university online. On June 4th a federal judge invalidated the law known as the "Texas Dream Act" which went into law in 2001. The law was largely uncontroversial when it passed with few votes against it but its end is being celebrated by Republican lawmakers in the Texas house and Governor Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ undocumented college students no longer qualify for in-state tuition
Within hours of a federal lawsuit targeting Texas’ policy of letting undocumented students qualify for lower public tuition rates, the 24-year-old law was no more. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3d336410cf72665ddb57373fd44f430e/UT%20Austin%20Covid%20File%20TT%2012.jpg)
![Students walk through campus at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas colleges will soon be able to pay their athletes
House Bill 126, which allows student athletes to receive a slice of the billions Texas colleges generate in revenue from their teams, now awaits the governor’s signature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f4ac6467b75a1ffbb1713ef63d7feaa8/UT%20Football%20EG%20TT.jpg)
![The University of Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin on August 31, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Daily Texan -
Lawmakers approve bill limiting protests at public universities
The proposal is largely in response to massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. Critics say it would walk back free speech protections that conservatives advocated for in previous legislative sessions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0c61926e39c6d0cc26de0f9870127dc6/0424%20UT%20Austin%20Protest%20EH%20TT%2016.jpg)
![Protestors chant at Texas Department of Public Safety troopers as they begin to push students towards Guadalupe Street from the South Lawn during a demonstration in support of Palestine Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at the University of Texas in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to give political appointees more oversight over Texas universities wins final passage
The latest version of the proposal eliminates language that would have required university curricula not to advocate that “any race, sex, ethnicity or religious belief is inherently superior to another.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5fd507963acae20ff3dd640b67874375/Texas%20State%20Campus%20TT%20LS%2004.jpg)
![Texas State University campus in San Marcos, Texas.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to teach Texas kids the dangers of communism — but not fascism — clears the Legislature
The bill won bipartisan support despite efforts from multiple Democrats that would have also required students to learn about fascism and Nazism. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4c1ea02172c199b6ff835269b5fec6d4/Capitol%20File%20Oct%2020%20EL%20TT%2011.jpg)
![The United States flag flies at the Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Faculty and students blast Texas House panel for limiting testimony on bill that targets state universities
The House's higher education committee closed registration to testify on Senate Bill 37 less than half an hour after the hearing started. About 20 people said they didn't get to address lawmakers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ec9f3542b5dd02b1ccdf1faee83d2e05/0515%20Hands%20Off%20Higher%20Ed%20LW%20TT%2005.jpg)
![University students and faculty gather at the Texas Capitol’s outdoor rotunda on May 15, 2025 to speak against Senate Bill 37, which would allow the government to reshape courses and governance in higher education.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
After college students protested Israel-Hamas war, Texas Senate votes to restrict time, place and manner of future events
Sen. Brandon Creighton says the bill will prevent disruption. Critics say it walks back conservative lawmakers' previous pledge to protect campus free speech. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e3231680e838eb7231331483b47692b6/0429%20UT%20Protest%20JS%2013.jpg)
![Texas Department of Public Safety troopers surround a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Texas at Austin campus on April 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune