1-1     By:  Rangel (Senate Sponsor - Barrientos)             H.B. No. 1641
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 5, 2001;
 1-3     April 9, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; April 30, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable
 1-5     Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0;
 1-6     April 30, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1641                  By:  Nelson
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to providing certain students with an equal opportunity to
1-11     enroll in or receive a competitive scholarship for a graduate or
1-12     professional degree program.
1-13           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14           SECTION 1.  Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-15     Subchapter V to read as follows:
1-16                  SUBCHAPTER V.  ADMISSION AND SCHOLARSHIP
1-17               POLICIES FOR GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS
1-18           Sec. 51.821.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
1-19                 (1)  "General academic teaching institution" and
1-20     "medical and dental unit" have the meanings assigned by Section
1-21     61.003.
1-22                 (2)  "Graduate program" means a degree program, as
1-23     defined by Section 61.003, to which a student may be admitted that
1-24     leads to a master's or doctoral degree.
1-25                 (3)  "Professional program" means a degree program, as
1-26     defined by Section 61.003, to which a student may be admitted that
1-27     leads to a degree required for licensure as an attorney, doctor of
1-28     medicine or osteopathy, dentist, architect, or pharmacist.
1-29           Sec. 51.822.  ADMISSION AND SCHOLARSHIP FACTORS FOR GRADUATE
1-30     AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS.  (a)  A graduate or professional program
1-31     of a general academic teaching institution or medical or dental
1-32     unit may consider the following factors in making an admissions or
1-33     scholarship decision for admissions into or competitive
1-34     scholarships for the graduate or professional program:
1-35                 (1)  an applicant's academic record as a high school
1-36     student and undergraduate student;
1-37                 (2)  the socioeconomic background of the applicant
1-38     while the applicant attended elementary and secondary school and
1-39     was an undergraduate student, including any change in that
1-40     background;
1-41                 (3)  whether the applicant would be the first
1-42     generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
1-43     undergraduate program or from a graduate or professional program;
1-44                 (4)  whether the applicant has multilingual
1-45     proficiency;
1-46                 (5)  the applicant's responsibilities while attending
1-47     elementary and secondary school and as an undergraduate student,
1-48     including whether the applicant was employed, whether the applicant
1-49     helped to raise children, and other similar factors;
1-50                 (6)  to achieve geographic diversity, the applicant's
1-51     region of residence at the time of application and, if the
1-52     applicant graduated from a public high school in this state within
1-53     the preceding 20 years, the region in which the applicant's school
1-54     district is located;
1-55                 (7)  the applicant's involvement in community
1-56     activities;
1-57                 (8)  the applicant's demonstrated commitment to a
1-58     particular field of study;
1-59                 (9)  for admission into a professional program, the
1-60     current comparative availability of members of that profession in
1-61     the applicant's region of residence while the applicant attended
1-62     elementary and secondary school;
1-63                 (10)  whether the applicant was automatically admitted
1-64     to a general academic teaching institution as an undergraduate
 2-1     student under Section 51.803; and
 2-2                 (11)  the applicant's personal interview.
 2-3           (b)  The applicant's performance on a standardized test may
 2-4     not be used in the admissions or competitive scholarship process as
 2-5     the sole criterion for consideration of the applicant.
 2-6           (c)  An institution may not assign a specific weight to any
 2-7     one factor being considered in the admissions or competitive
 2-8     scholarship process.
 2-9           (d)  Not later than one year before the date that
2-10     applications for admissions and competitive scholarships are first
2-11     considered for a graduate or professional program under this
2-12     subchapter, each general academic teaching institution or medical
2-13     and dental unit shall publish in the catalog of the institution or
2-14     unit a description of the factors to be considered by the
2-15     institution or unit in making those admissions and competitive
2-16     scholarship decisions and shall make the information available to
2-17     the public.
2-18           (e)  The requirements of Subsection (c) do not apply to
2-19     admissions and competitive scholarships for the 2002 fall semester.
2-20     Each institution or unit covered by Subsection (c) shall make the
2-21     required information available to the public and to applicants to
2-22     its graduate and professional programs not later than December 1,
2-23     2001, for the 2002 fall semester.  This subsection expires
2-24     September 1, 2002.
2-25           Sec. 51.823.  RULEMAKING.  The Texas Higher Education
2-26     Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of
2-27     admissions and competitive scholarship processes under this
2-28     subchapter.
2-29           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
2-30     beginning with admissions and competitive scholarships for the
2-31     2002-2003 academic year.
2-32           (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, each
2-33     general academic teaching institution, and each medical and dental
2-34     unit shall adopt rules or policies relating to the admission of
2-35     students and awarding of scholarships under Subchapter V, Chapter
2-36     51, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than December
2-37     1, 2001.
2-38           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-39     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-40     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-41     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-42     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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