HBA-LJP H.B. 1387 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1387
By: Dukes
Higher Education
7/17/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a high school student is automatically admitted to an
institution of higher education if the student graduates with a grade point
average in the top 10 percent of the student's high school graduating
class.  Because some high schools have special programs such as magnet
schools on the same campus, the method of calculating the class ranking of
students in a special program in relationship to the class ranking of the
other students of the high school had become an issue.  House Bill 1387
separates the class ranking of a special program that is on the same campus
as a high school from the class ranking of the other students of the high
school for the purposes of top 10 percent admissions. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1387 amends the Education Code to authorize a governing body of
a school district, for the purposes of the automatic admissions policies of
institutions of higher education, to treat a qualified high school magnet
program, academy, or other special program conducted by the school district
within a high school as an independent high school with its own graduating
class separate from the graduating class of other students attending the
high school.  The bill sets forth the criteria for a program to be
considered a separate special high school program.  The bill applies only
to the manner in which the members of a graduating class of the high school
as a whole, including graduates of the special program, are ranked by grade
point average for purposes of automatic admissions in higher education. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

June 15, 2001.