By: Barrientos S.B. No. 1321 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the admission and enrollment of certain students in 1-2 public institutions of higher education. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is 1-5 amended by adding Section 51.929 to read as follows: 1-6 Sec. 51.929. RIGHT TO AN ACADEMIC FRESH START. (a) This 1-7 section applies to any public institution of higher education as 1-8 defined in Section 61.003 of this code. 1-9 (b) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a resident of this 1-10 state is entitled to apply for admission to and enroll as an 1-11 undergraduate student in any public institution of higher education 1-12 under this section. 1-13 (c) If an applicant elects to seek admission under this 1-14 section, a public institution of higher education, in considering 1-15 the applicant for admission, shall not consider academic course 1-16 credits or grades earned by the applicant 10 or more years prior to 1-17 the starting date of the semester in which the applicant seeks to 1-18 enroll. An applicant who makes the election to apply under this 1-19 section and is admitted as a student may not receive any course 1-20 credit for courses undertaken prior to enrollment under this 1-21 section. 1-22 (d) If a student who enrolls under this section completes a 1-23 prescribed course of study, earns a baccalaureate degree and 2-1 applies for admission to a postgraduate or professional program 2-2 offered by a public institution of higher education, the 2-3 institution, in considering the applicant for admission into the 2-4 postgraduate or professional program, shall consider only the grade 2-5 point average of the applicant established by the course work 2-6 completed after enrollment under this section, along with any other 2-7 criteria the institution uses in evaluating applicants for 2-8 admission into the postgraduate or professional program. 2-9 SECTION 2. Section 51.929, Education Code, as added by this 2-10 Act, applies beginning with the fall semester in 1993. 2-11 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-16 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-17 passage, and it is so enacted.