This story has been updated.
The Austin Community College District Board of Trustees has challenging the end of a Texas law that allowed certain undocumented students to get in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.
The 2001 law is known as the Texas Dream Act.
鈥淎s the publicly elected arm of the College, the Trustees are asking for the opportunity to engage in a legal conversation that will examine whether the Texas Dream Act is constitutional,鈥� trustees said in a news release.
The board made the decision to take this step during a special meeting Saturday 鈥� a few weeks after the Trump administration filed a lawsuit challenging the Texas Dream Act. State leaders immediately agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice鈥檚 stance, ending the two-decade-old law overnight.
The ACC Board of Trustees said the sudden end of the law 鈥渂ypassed the standard legislative process meant to ensure fairness and transparency, and prevented sufficient notice or consideration.鈥�
Civil rights groups 鈥� including ACLU of Texas and a Dallas-based law firm 鈥� Tuesday on behalf of the ACC board, and a current student, asking to intervene in the federal litigation over the Texas Dream Act in order to .
ACC Board Chair Sean Hassan said the community college has a vested interest in the issue because it is tasked with training students to meet the needs of Central Texas employers and to fulfill its mission to the taxpayers who help fund it.
鈥淚f legislation or court decisions will impact our ability to meet these expectations, we should have a seat at the table to help shape responsible solutions," he said. "The action by our Board asks the court to ensure our voice is heard."
ACC estimates 500 of its students will be affected by the end of the Texas Dream Act.
In the motion to intervene, the groups representing the ACC board said the college will see a drop in student enrollment and retention since undocumented students are no longer eligible for in-state tuition rates.
"ACC鈥檚 low-income students could see tuition rates quadruple, from $1,020 to $4,236 for some," lawyers said in the motion. "A change so drastic and sudden is unprecedented, and will cause many students to withdraw from ACC, not to mention those who will be deterred from applying."
According to the motion, trustees expect ACC to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, while also facing new administrative costs to determine students' immigration status and recalculate tuition bills.
"If not allowed to intervene, ACC will face irreparable harm to its finances, campus community, and mission," the motion stated.
Just last week, Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Wynn Rosser directed public colleges and universities to identify which of their students are no longer eligible for in-state tuition rates because of their immigration status. He added in the memo that those students must be "reclassified as non-residents and charged non-resident tuition for the fall 2025 semester."
In a statement released before the motion was filed, the ACC board said it was consulting with legal counsel pro bono and that joining the lawsuit would not cost the college or local taxpayers.
Separately, a group of undocumented students represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund to allow them to intervene in the case the DOJ filed against Texas and argue for the law to remain in effect.
