By Nixon                                               H.B. No. 843
         77R403 JSA-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the admissions standards applicable to public
 1-3     institutions of higher education.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 51.803.  AUTOMATIC ADMISSION; ALTERNATIVE ADMISSION
 1-8     POLICY[: ALL INSTITUTIONS].  (a)  Each general academic teaching
 1-9     institution that does not adopt an alternative admission policy
1-10     under Subsection (c) shall admit an applicant for admission to the
1-11     institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated
1-12     with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's
1-13     high school graduating class in one of the two school years
1-14     preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for
1-15     admission and the applicant graduated from a public or private high
1-16     school in this state accredited by a generally recognized
1-17     accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the
1-18     United States Department of Defense.  To qualify for admission
1-19     under this subsection [section], an applicant must submit an
1-20     application before the expiration of any application filing
1-21     deadline established by the institution and, if the applicant
1-22     graduated from a high school operated by the United States
1-23     Department of Defense, must be a Texas resident under Section
1-24     54.052 or be entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for
 2-1     Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for the term or semester to
 2-2     which admitted.
 2-3           (b)  After admitting an applicant under Subsection (a) [this
 2-4     section], the institution shall review the applicant's record and
 2-5     any other factor the institution considers appropriate to determine
 2-6     whether the applicant may require additional preparation for
 2-7     college-level work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention
 2-8     program.  The institution may require a student so identified to
 2-9     enroll during the summer immediately after the student is admitted
2-10     under Subsection (a) [this section] to participate in appropriate
2-11     enrichment courses and orientation programs.  This subsection
2-12     [section] does not prohibit a student who is not determined to need
2-13     additional preparation for college-level work from enrolling, if
2-14     the student chooses, during the summer immediately after the
2-15     student is admitted [under this section].
2-16           (c)  Subsection (a) does not apply to a general academic
2-17     teaching institution for which the governing board adopts an
2-18     alternative admission policy for undergraduate admissions to the
2-19     institution that expressly provides that the automatic admission
2-20     policy provided by Subsection (a) does not apply to the
2-21     institution.
2-22           SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with admissions to a
2-23     general academic teaching institution for the 2002-2003 academic
2-24     year.
2-25           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-26     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-27     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-1     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-2     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.