By Rangel H.B. No. 3418 Line and page numbers may not match official copy. Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E. A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the consideration of race, ethnicity, or national 1-3 origin in certain actions and decisions of public institutions of 1-4 higher education. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. PURPOSE. The policies and requirements provided 1-7 by this Act are intended to remedy the present effects of past 1-8 discrimination by the State of Texas and its political subdivisions 1-9 and public institutions to promote the essential, fundamental, and 1-10 compelling interests of Texas to provide full and equal 1-11 opportunities for all Texans to participate in and enjoy the 1-12 benefits of the state's system of higher education. 1-13 SECTION 2. UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS. (a) Each general 1-14 academic teaching institution, as that term is defined by Section 1-15 61.003, Education Code, may consider African American race and 1-16 Mexican American national origin as a factor in admitting 1-17 undergraduate students, granting scholarships, loans, and 1-18 fellowships to undergraduate students, recruiting and retaining 1-19 undergraduate students, and administering private and governmental 1-20 programs relating to undergraduate students. 1-21 (b) Each year, each institution covered by this section 1-22 shall compare the proportions of African American and Mexican 2-1 American undergraduate students at the institution to the 2-2 proportions of African Americans and Mexican Americans graduating 2-3 from public high school in this state, and to the extent that the 2-4 institution's enrollment proportion is lower than the proportion of 2-5 the persons of the same group graduating from high school, the 2-6 institution shall continue to use African-American race or Mexican 2-7 American national origin as a factor in admitting undergraduate 2-8 students, granting scholarships, loans, fellowships to 2-9 undergraduate students, and recruitment and retention of 2-10 undergraduate students for the next six years. 2-11 SECTION 3. GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS. (a) Each 2-12 institution of higher education, as that term is defined by Section 2-13 61.003, Education Code, that offers a graduate or professional 2-14 degree program may consider African American race and Mexican 2-15 American national origin as a factor in admitting students to those 2-16 programs, granting scholarships, loans, and fellowships to students 2-17 enrolled in those programs, recruiting and retaining students in 2-18 those programs, and administering private and governmental programs 2-19 relating to those programs. 2-20 (b) Each year, each institution to which this section 2-21 applies shall compare the proportions of African American and 2-22 Mexican American students enrolled in each graduate or professional 2-23 degree program to the proportions of African Americans and Mexican 2-24 Americans receiving baccalaureate degrees from public institutions 2-25 of higher education of this state, and to the extent that the 2-26 graduate or professional degree program enrollment proportion is 2-27 lower than the proportion of persons of the same group receiving 3-1 baccalaureate degrees, the institution shall use African-American 3-2 race or Mexican American national origin as a factor in admitting 3-3 student to the program, granting scholarships, loans, and 3-4 fellowships to students in the program, and recruitment and 3-5 retention for the program for the next six years. 3-6 SECTION 4. ANNUAL REVIEW AND REPORTS. (a) Each public 3-7 institution of higher education that uses race or national origin 3-8 as a factor as provided by this Act shall apply the same criteria 3-9 to all students, using the same committees and same waiting lists 3-10 and shall minimize harm to any third parties. 3-11 (b) Every year, each public institution of higher education 3-12 to which this Act applies shall evaluate its programs developed 3-13 under this section to determine their effectiveness, the 3-14 availability of equally or more effective alternatives, and the 3-15 harm if any to third parties, and shall report on these matters to 3-16 the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of 3-17 representatives, the chair of the legislative committee of each 3-18 house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher 3-19 education, and to appropriate state agencies. 3-20 SECTION 5. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation 3-21 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-22 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-23 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-24 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.