By Wentworth S.B. No. 974
77R7712 JSA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the eligibility of a high school graduate for automatic
1-3 admission to an institution of higher education.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 51.803 and 51.807, Education Code, are
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 51.803. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION: ALL INSTITUTIONS. (a)
1-8 Each general academic teaching institution shall admit an applicant
1-9 for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the
1-10 applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10
1-11 percent of the student's high school graduating class in one of the
1-12 two school years preceding the academic year for which the
1-13 applicant is applying for admission and the applicant:
1-14 (1) graduated from a public or private high school in
1-15 this state accredited by a generally recognized accrediting
1-16 organization or from a high school operated by the United States
1-17 Department of Defense;
1-18 (2) completed the recommended or advanced high school
1-19 curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025 or an
1-20 equivalent curriculum at a high school to which those sections do
1-21 not apply; and
1-22 (3)[. To qualify for admission under this section, an
1-23 applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any
1-24 application filing deadline established by the institution and,] if
2-1 the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United
2-2 States Department of Defense, is [must be] a Texas resident under
2-3 Section 54.052 or is [be] entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate
2-4 provided for Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for the term
2-5 or semester to which admitted.
2-6 (b) To qualify for admission under this section, an
2-7 applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any
2-8 application filing deadline established by the institution.
2-9 (c) After admitting an applicant under this section, the
2-10 institution shall review the applicant's record and any other
2-11 factor the institution considers appropriate to determine whether
2-12 the applicant may require additional preparation for college-level
2-13 work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program. The
2-14 institution may require a student so identified to enroll during
2-15 the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this
2-16 section to participate in appropriate enrichment courses and
2-17 orientation programs. This section does not prohibit a student who
2-18 is not determined to need additional preparation for college-level
2-19 work from enrolling, if the student chooses, during the summer
2-20 immediately after the student is admitted under this section.
2-21 Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. (a) The Texas Higher Education
2-22 Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of
2-23 admissions programs under this subchapter, including rules relating
2-24 to the identification of eligible students and the reporting
2-25 requirements of Section 51.806.
2-26 (b) The coordinating board after consulting with the Texas
2-27 Education Agency by rule shall establish standards for determining:
3-1 (1) whether a private high school is accredited by a
3-2 generally accepted accrediting organization; and
3-3 (2) whether a person completed a high school
3-4 curriculum that is equivalent to the recommended or advanced high
3-5 school curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025.
3-6 SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies
3-7 beginning with admissions for the 2002-2003 academic year.
3-8 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-9 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-10 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
3-11 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-12 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.