Latest news with #AustinCommunityCollege
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge denies undocumented students' attempt to challenge sudden loss of in-state tuition
A federal judge on Aug. 15 rejected a bid by undocumented students, immigrant rights advocates and Austin Community College to intervene in a case that ended access to in-state tuition for certain undocumented students, a setback for their effort to overturn the ruling. Students for Affordable Tuition filed notice on Aug. 16 that it would appeal U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor's decision, and a second group — including a University of North Texas student, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, and Austin Community College — filed its own notice of appeal on Aug. 18. O'Connor said the groups' request came too late and they did not have the legal authority to defend the law, which he said rests with the Texas Attorney General's Office. He said that office had adequately represented their position, even if it chose not to raise every constitutional argument they wanted. On June 4, just two days after the Legislature ended its regular session without repealing the law, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas for allowing certain undocumented Texans to qualify for lower tuition rates at public universities. Texas quickly agreed with the Trump administration's claim that the law was unconstitutional and asked a judge to find the law unenforceable. The quick turnaround — the whole lawsuit was resolved in less than six hours — represents a 'contrived legal challenge designed to prevent sufficient notice and robust consideration,' lawyers for these students argued in their motion to intervene. Students for Affordable Tuition asked to intervene on June 11, and a second group followed June 23: Oscar Silva, a 24-year-old University of North Texas student; La Unión del Pueblo Entero, an advocacy group in the Rio Grande Valley; and Austin Community College. The Justice Department and the Texas attorney general's office opposed the motion on the grounds that the matter has been resolved and the case is terminated, court documents say. O'Connor, the George W. Bush appointee who blocked the law, has long been a favored judge for the Texas attorney general's office and conservative litigants. The Justice Department filed its lawsuit in the Wichita Falls division of the Northern District of Texas, where O'Connor hears all cases. The people who are most impacted by a lawsuit typically have a right to have their voices heard on a case, said David Coale, a Dallas appellate attorney. Getting O'Connor to agree to reopen might be a tough sell, he said, but if they're denied, they could appeal that ruling and the rest of the case alongside it, to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'The 5th Circuit's obviously a very conservative court, but part of that conservatism is a pretty limited view of the judicial role,' Coale said. 'So if they get a chance to argue their case there … they may have some luck.' The law, which had been in effect since 2001, granted in-state tuition to anyone who has been living in the state for three years and graduated from a Texas high school. All students who claimed this benefit were required to sign an affidavit saying they intended to apply for permanent legal residency as soon as they were able; many of them are here as part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Students for Affordable Tuition's motion laid out the human impact of the law's sudden reversal — a man who is reconsidering his plans to go to medical school in Texas; a woman who will have to drop out of her masters program, where she was studying to become a counselor; a teacher-in-training who will have to delay her plans to graduate and begin working. They are represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which said in a press release that the abrupt overturning of the law has left students scrambling. Attorneys for the second group requesting to intervene wrote in their motion that Silva, who is seeking a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in accounting, cannot afford out-of-state tuition and will be unable to graduate next spring. At Austin Community College, they wrote, the ruling could affect more than 400 students, quadruple the tuition of some, lead others to drop out and deter potential students from enrolling. Disclosure: The University of North Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer. Get tickets. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Yahoo
Travis County releases names of four flood victims. All are from Leander.
The Travis County sheriff's office has identified four people who died in the county during last weekend's catastrophic floods. Dan Dailey, 67 Virginia Watts Dailey, 66, Betty Massey West, 84 August Panning, 50 All are from Leander. 'My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who lost their lives," Sheriff Sally Hernandez said. "We will not waver in our efforts support the community during this difficult time.' Four others from the county are still missing. The office listed but did not name a 17-year-old girl from Marble Falls who also died in the flood. Crews have recovered the bodies of three more people, but are working to identify them or notify their families. A total of 16 people have been confirmed dead after floods tore through Austin-area communities last weekend: eight in Travis, five in Burnet County and three in Williamson County. One person still is missing in Burnet. In Kerr County, where floodwaters ravaged riverside summer camps, small towns and RV parks, officials have confirmed 96 deaths, including 36 children. Officials say 161 people are still reported missing. A candlelight vigil is planned for 8 p.m. Saturday at the Leander campus of Austin Community College. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Travis County releases names of four flood victims.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Austin Community College free tuition program takes center stage at US Senate. Here's why.
At the invitation of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Austin Community College Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart testified at a congressional hearing Wednesday about ACC's innovative free tuition program for in-district high school graduates. In his testimony, Lowery-Hart told members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that community colleges in general have taken on affordability issues "with courage" — and that their voices are often ignored in higher education policy. "We're the entity in the sector of higher education where innovation goes to breathe and where I think higher education is actually being reimagined," Lowery-Hart said. "Community colleges are the sector that have taken on affordability with courage." Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont and former Democratic presidential candidate, specifically invited Lowery-Hart to testify after learning about the success of the program for recent high school graduates. His recently introduced bill, the College for All Act of 2025, would eliminate public tuition and fees for students in certain income brackets. Lowery-Hart said the free tuition program has boosted enrollment by 40% at the college, as well as increased retention and success rates. Sander's bill would be "transformative" for other institutions to have similar success, he said. Lowery-Hart was the only representative from Texas and from a community college on the panel, which also included presidents from a Christian-centered college and a historically Black college and university, a research fellow and a representative from a student borrower protection center. His testimony came as Congress considers a reconciliation bill that would cut Pell Grants for part-time students by increasing the amount of credit hours a student must take to qualify for the aid. For ACC, that would mean 5,000 part-time students could lose Pell access and likely their ability to finish workforce programs, Lowery-Hart said. "Our moral clarity is loving our students to success because this work is personal," Lowery-Hart told senators. "The decisions that you do make aren't just political, they change the trajectory of lives, neighborhoods and communities." Based on ACC's data, Lowery-Hart shared that the average student is 27-year-old "Ashley," a part-time student with two jobs and a young child, who is just one emergency away from dropping out. ACC data shows 40% of its students are food insecure, and 55% are housing insecure. "She is continually in a state of stress because she is one flat tire away or one sick childcare worker away from having to drop out of school, which then could consign her to a life of poverty," Lowery-Hart said. But support at "key moments," such as ACC's free tuition program or emergency fund, can change her family's economic trajectory for generations. Lowery-Hart said the ACC free tuition program is notable among other programs for its breadth and for covering the total cost of admission, allowing other scholarships to go toward meeting students' basic needs. Although ACC has not raised tuition in 12 years, the top reason students still don't attend is affordability, not lack of interest, Lowery-Hart said. He implored senators to remember Ashley as they make decisions affecting higher education. Sean Hassan, chair of ACC's board of directors, said it was "thrilling" to represent community colleges and share ACC's story on Capitol Hill. He said the ACC team also met with Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn's staff while in Washington to discuss the importance of Pell grants and the continued momentum of legislation that would benefit ACC, such as potential changes to the CHIPS and Science Act on semiconductor development. Hassan said ACC's perspective is particularly valuable because of the diversity of students and service area: Its coverage area is larger than the state of Connecticut, and the college annually serves 70,000 students from high school students taking dual credit courses to workforce training for returning adult learners. He said the bipartisanship of the committee hearing made him optimistic about higher education, and he hopes ACC's story inspires others to enact change. 'I am very hopeful, and not just because of the work that we're doing in Central Texas, but potentially because we can serve as a model for others,' Hassan said. 'You can't ever get complacent. We have to keep showing up and making sure we are telling our story, the story of Ashley.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ACC chancellor advocates for free tuition, Pell grants at US Senate
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Austin Community College free tuition program takes center stage at US Senate. Here's why.
At the invitation of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Austin Community College Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart testified at a congressional hearing Wednesday about ACC's innovative free tuition program for in-district high school graduates. In his testimony, Lowery-Hart told members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that community colleges in general have taken on affordability issues "with courage" — and that their voices are often ignored in higher education policy. "We're the entity in the sector of higher education where innovation goes to breathe and where I think higher education is actually being reimagined," Lowery-Hart said. "Community colleges are the sector that have taken on affordability with courage." Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont and former Democratic presidential candidate, specifically invited Lowery-Hart to testify after learning about the success of the program for recent high school graduates. His recently introduced bill, the College for All Act of 2025, would eliminate public tuition and fees for students in certain income brackets. Lowery-Hart said the free tuition program has boosted enrollment by 40% at the college, as well as increased retention and success rates. Sander's bill would be "transformative" for other institutions to have similar success, he said. Lowery-Hart was the only representative from Texas and from a community college on the panel, which also included presidents from a Christian-centered college and a historically Black college and university, a research fellow and a representative from a student borrower protection center. His testimony came as Congress considers a reconciliation bill that would cut Pell Grants for part-time students by increasing the amount of credit hours a student must take to qualify for the aid. For ACC, that would mean 5,000 part-time students could lose Pell access and likely their ability to finish workforce programs, Lowery-Hart said. "Our moral clarity is loving our students to success because this work is personal," Lowery-Hart told senators. "The decisions that you do make aren't just political, they change the trajectory of lives, neighborhoods and communities." Based on ACC's data, Lowery-Hart shared that the average student is 27-year-old "Ashley," a part-time student with two jobs and a young child, who is just one emergency away from dropping out. ACC data shows 40% of its students are food insecure, and 55% are housing insecure. "She is continually in a state of stress because she is one flat tire away or one sick childcare worker away from having to drop out of school, which then could consign her to a life of poverty," Lowery-Hart said. But support at "key moments," such as ACC's free tuition program or emergency fund, can change her family's economic trajectory for generations. Lowery-Hart said the ACC free tuition program is notable among other programs for its breadth and for covering the total cost of admission, allowing other scholarships to go toward meeting students' basic needs. Although ACC has not raised tuition in 12 years, the top reason students still don't attend is affordability, not lack of interest, Lowery-Hart said. He implored senators to remember Ashley as they make decisions affecting higher education. Sean Hassan, chair of ACC's board of directors, said it was "thrilling" to represent community colleges and share ACC's story on Capitol Hill. He said the ACC team also met with Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn's staff while in Washington to discuss the importance of Pell grants and the continued momentum of legislation that would benefit ACC, such as potential changes to the CHIPS and Science Act on semiconductor development. Hassan said ACC's perspective is particularly valuable because of the diversity of students and service area: Its coverage area is larger than the state of Connecticut, and the college annually serves 70,000 students from high school students taking dual credit courses to workforce training for returning adult learners. He said the bipartisanship of the committee hearing made him optimistic about higher education, and he hopes ACC's story inspires others to enact change. 'I am very hopeful, and not just because of the work that we're doing in Central Texas, but potentially because we can serve as a model for others,' Hassan said. 'You can't ever get complacent. We have to keep showing up and making sure we are telling our story, the story of Ashley.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ACC chancellor advocates for free tuition, Pell grants at US Senate
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why Pease Park visitors must now pay to park
AUSTIN (KXAN) — People enjoying Pease Park will now have to pay to park on weekends, according to the city of Austin. The change comes as the city installs paid parking spaces to 'improve safety and create more availability for people visiting the high-demand area.' According to the city, the new paid parking areas are on Parkway between Enfield Road and Kingsbury Street. 'The new regulations are now in effect,' the city said. 'Parking enforcement officers will write warnings for a two-week period while handing out information about the changes.' The new regulations are in place from 5 a.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, and beginning May 1, enforcement officers will start citing vehicles accordingly. From Friday through Sunday, 5 a.m. – 10 p.m., parking requires mobile payment through the Park ATX app, and parking Friday through Monday, 10 p.m. – 5 a.m., for the majority of Parkway will be permit-only. Free parking options Austin Recreation Center on Shoal Creek Boulevard Austin Community College garage at 824 W. 12th St., (9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
