(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, an individual shall be classified as a Texas resident until the individual establishes a residence outside this state if the individual resided with the individual's parent, guardian, or conservator while attending a public or private high school in this state and:
(1) graduated from a public or private high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in this state;
(2) resided in this state for at least three years as of the date the person graduated from high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma;
(3) registers as an entering student in an institution of higher education not earlier than the 2001 fall semester; and
(4) provides to the institution an affidavit stating that the individual will file an application to become a permanent resident at the earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to do so.
The law also requires noncitizens to apply for citizenship
Not quite. The commitment to file an application to be an LPR is so open-ended as to be meaningless. They may never be eligible to do so. Yet they receive in-state tuition.
You are correct. Good catch.
Excellent point. Also, they were not necessarily brought here by their parents when they were children. The age limit for the Texas Dream Act is 29, so some of them could have entered the USA of their own free will.
I don't know how many of them never file for legal status.