Senate approves two-year tuition freeze, 1% cap on increases after that

In a nod to one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top priorities, the Texas Senate voted Tuesday to freeze tuition at public universities for two years — and then place strict limitations on increases after that.

But the idea still faces an uncertain future. The proposal will now head to the House, where leadership is much more skeptical of tuition caps.

Senate Bill 19 was approved 29-2 with little discussion. It would ban schools from hiking costs for the two years after the 2017-18 school year. After that, schools would be limited to increases of 1 percent, plus the rate of inflation. And those increases would only be allowed if schools met a series of performance metrics set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

SB 19's author, Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, has been pushing for a “performance-based tuition” bill since 2015, when the idea passed the Senate but died in the House. The thinking behind it is that schools should have to show improvements in graduation rates and reductions in administrative costs before they change their prices.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/04/04/senate-approves-two-year-tuition-freeze-1-cap-on-increases-after-that/