1-1 By: Wentworth S.B. No. 974
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 27, 2001; March 1, 2001, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Education; March 26, 2001,
1-4 reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 1; March 26, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 974 By: Staples
1-7 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-8 AN ACT
1-9 relating to the eligibility of a high school graduate for automatic
1-10 admission to an institution of higher education.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Sections 51.803 and 51.807, Education Code, are
1-13 amended to read as follows:
1-14 Sec. 51.803. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION: ALL INSTITUTIONS.
1-15 (a) Each general academic teaching institution shall admit an
1-16 applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate
1-17 student if the applicant graduated with a grade point average in
1-18 the top 10 percent of the student's high school graduating class in
1-19 one of the two school years preceding the academic year for which
1-20 the applicant is applying for admission and the applicant:
1-21 (1) graduated from a public or private high school in
1-22 this state accredited by a generally recognized accrediting
1-23 organization or from a high school operated by the United States
1-24 Department of Defense;
1-25 (2) completed the recommended or advanced high school
1-26 curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025 or an
1-27 equivalent curriculum at a high school to which those sections do
1-28 not apply; and
1-29 (3)[. To qualify for admission under this section, an
1-30 applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any
1-31 application filing deadline established by the institution and,] if
1-32 the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United
1-33 States Department of Defense, is [must be] a Texas resident under
1-34 Section 54.052 or is [be] entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate
1-35 provided for Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for the term
1-36 or semester to which admitted.
1-37 (b) To qualify for admission under this section, an
1-38 applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any
1-39 application filing deadline established by the institution.
1-40 (c) After admitting an applicant under this section, the
1-41 institution shall review the applicant's record and any other
1-42 factor the institution considers appropriate to determine whether
1-43 the applicant may require additional preparation for college-level
1-44 work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program. The
1-45 institution may require a student so identified to enroll during
1-46 the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this
1-47 section to participate in appropriate enrichment courses and
1-48 orientation programs. This section does not prohibit a student who
1-49 is not determined to need additional preparation for college-level
1-50 work from enrolling, if the student chooses, during the summer
1-51 immediately after the student is admitted under this section.
1-52 Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. (a) The Texas Higher Education
1-53 Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of
1-54 admissions programs under this subchapter, including rules relating
1-55 to the identification of eligible students and the reporting
1-56 requirements of Section 51.806.
1-57 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board after
1-58 consulting with the Texas Education Agency by rule shall establish
1-59 standards for determining:
1-60 (1) whether a private high school is accredited by a
1-61 generally accepted accrediting organization; and
1-62 (2) whether a person completed a high school
1-63 curriculum that is equivalent to the recommended or advanced high
1-64 school curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025.
2-1 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
2-2 (b) The change in law made by this Act applies beginning
2-3 with admissions for the 2004-2005 academic year.
2-4 * * * * *