Foster Care

The program purpose is to provide financial assistance to students who were in foster care when they turned 18 years of age. The exemption covers tuition and fees for courses for which the University receives tax support (i.e., a course that does not depend solely on student tuition and fees to cover its costs); however, once you have been determined eligible for the benefit, the benefit continues indefinitely. There are no durational limitations in statute referencing how many semesters or years a student may receive this exemption.

In order to be eligible for the exemption, you must:

• Have been under the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services at one of the following points in time:
  • On the day preceding your 18th birthday
  • On or after the day of your 14th birthday, if you were also eligible for adoption on or after that day
  • On the day you graduated from high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma
  • On the day preceding:
    • The date you were adopted, if that date is on or after September 1, 2009
    • The date permanent managing conservatorship was awarded to a person other than your parent, if that date is on or after September 1, 2009
  • During an academic term in which you were enrolled in a dual credit course or other course for which a high school student may earn joint high school and college credit
• Enroll in an institution of higher education as an undergraduate student or in a dual credit course or other course for which a high school student may earn joint high school and college credit no later than your 25th birthday.

To apply, provide the Office of Financial Aid with written proof of eligibility from the Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS).

Assistance with locating temporary housing between academic terms (fall, spring and summer) is also available to eligible students who were in foster care on the day preceding their eighteenth birthday and who were enrolled full-time at a public institution in the previous term and are registered or committed to enrolling full-time at a public institution in the subsequent term. To read more about this program, see House Bill 452, 82nd Legislature.