Texas universities

The higher court's ruling comes as part of the church's lawsuit against SMU, which has challenged the authority UMC has over the university.

The directive comes after a court rescinded undocumented students' eligibility for in-state tuition. It's unclear what information schools might ask from students and how their immigration data will be protected.

Lawmakers also approved direct pay for student athletes and sought better pathways from college to the workforce.

Their filing says the lawsuit that struck down in-state tuition for undocumented students was "contrived" to keep their voices out.

Advocates and policy groups argue ending in-state tuition for students without legal status will hurt the state's economy.

Colleges across Texas have been waiting patiently for the dynamics to change when it comes to athlete compensation with the approval of the House v. NCAA settlement.

Shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice sued to block Texas from giving in-state tuition to immigrant students without legal status, state Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the two parties had filed a joint motion asking a court to permanently end the policy.

House Bill 126, which allows student athletes to receive a slice of the billions Texas colleges generate in revenue from their teams, now awaits the governor's signature.

The ruling comes just weeks after a federal lawsuit was filed in an effort to block the school’s ban on drag shows.

Public health experts say Texas needs better messaging on vaccinations and quarantining and more people conducting contact tracing to contain the spread.