SB2995

Gift aid includes grants, scholarships, exemptions, waivers and other aid that need not be repaid or earned through work. The Higher Education Coordinating Board must develop an advisory with the law’s exact warning in at least 14-point type inside a one-point border, plus common reasons gift aid may be revised or reduced. The warning explains displacement, including reductions following private scholarships, and encourages applicants to seek institutional advice. Final law, section 56.0094(a)–(b).

Each institution must include the advisory in its admission application form or provide a link there. In plain language it must also provide application instructions, financial-aid timelines and deadlines, recommendations for maximizing and protecting gift aid, and an employee or office contact for advice. The statute directs the board to adopt rules necessary for implementation. The board’s October 3, 2025 memorandum says it does not plan to propose rules and tells institutions to review the statute for full compliance; its instructions supply the advisory and implementation guidance. That memorandum is agency guidance, not an amendment deleting the statutory rulemaking provision. Final law, section 56.0094(c)–(d); Board memorandum; Advisory and instructions.

The introduced bill would have required sending an advisory within seven days of admission, individual reduction notices in a 30-day-before-or-after window, and annual institution and statewide reports broken down by race and sex. The Senate committee substitute replaced those proposals with admission-application information and recommendations. The substitute’s operative text survived unchanged through engrossment, House report and final law. There were no indexed floor amendments and no conference report. The proposed individual-notice deadlines and annual reports are not requirements created by the enacted act. Introduced proposal; Senate substitute; All versions; Amendment index; Final law.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Applicants gain earlier warning and a place to ask for help; institutions must supply clear information and keep their own advice and timelines useful. The board’s advisory lists possible reductions tied to additional private aid exceeding need or cost of attendance, reduced attendance costs, academic or merit requirements, enrollment changes, missing paperwork or deadlines, and changes to the Student Aid Index. These are explanations of possible reductions, not a finding about any particular student’s eligibility. Official advisory.

Both posted fiscal notes anticipate no significant state or local fiscal impact, assuming costs can be absorbed with existing resources. They do not estimate additional dollars students will receive or promise that better disclosure will prevent every reduction. Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note.