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79R1450 KEL-D
By: Woolley H.B. No. 750
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to admission to certain public institutions of higher
education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.007(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) During the first school year a student is enrolled in a
high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment
charter school, and again during a student's senior year, a
counselor shall provide information about higher education to the
student and the student's parent or guardian. The information must
include information regarding:
(1) the importance of higher education;
(2) the advantages of completing the recommended or
advanced high school program adopted under Section 28.025(a);
(3) the disadvantages of taking courses to prepare for
a high school equivalency examination relative to the benefits of
taking courses leading to a high school diploma;
(4) financial aid eligibility;
(5) instruction on how to apply for federal financial
aid;
(6) the center for financial aid information
established under Section 61.0776;
[(7) the automatic admission of certain students to
general academic teaching institutions as provided by Section
51.803;] and
(7) [(8)] the eligibility and academic performance
requirements for the TEXAS Grant as provided by Subchapter M,
Chapter 56[, as added by Chapter 1590, Acts of the 76th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1999].
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 51.805, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 51.805. UNDERGRADUATE [OTHER] ADMISSIONS.
SECTION 3. Sections 51.805(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) [A graduating student who does not qualify for admission
under Section 51.803 or 51.804 may apply to any general academic
teaching institution.
[(b) The general academic teaching institution, after
admitting students under Sections 51.803 and 51.804, shall admit
other applicants for admission as undergraduate students.] It is
the intent of the legislature that all institutions of higher
education pursue academic excellence by considering students'
academic achievements in decisions related to admissions.
(b) Because of changing demographic trends, diversity, and
population increases in the state, each general academic teaching
institution shall also consider all of, any of, or a combination of
the following socioeconomic indicators or factors in making
first-time freshman admissions decisions:
(1) the applicant's academic record;
(2) the socioeconomic background of the applicant,
including the percentage by which the applicant's family is above
or below any recognized measure of poverty, the applicant's
household income, and the applicant's parents' level of education;
(3) whether the applicant would be the first
generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
institution of higher education;
(4) whether the applicant has bilingual proficiency;
(5) the financial status of the applicant's school
district;
(6) the performance level of the applicant's school as
determined by the school accountability criteria used by the Texas
Education Agency;
(7) the applicant's responsibilities while attending
school, including whether the applicant has been employed, whether
the applicant has helped to raise children, or other similar
factors;
(8) the applicant's region of residence;
(9) whether the applicant is a resident of a rural or
urban area or a resident of a central city or suburban area in the
state;
(10) the applicant's performance on standardized
tests;
(11) the applicant's performance on standardized tests
in comparison with that of other students from similar
socioeconomic backgrounds;
(12) whether the applicant attended any school while
the school was under a court-ordered desegregation plan;
(13) the applicant's involvement in community
activities;
(14) the applicant's extracurricular activities;
(15) the applicant's commitment to a particular field
of study;
(16) the applicant's personal interview;
(17) the applicant's admission to a comparable
accredited out-of-state institution; and
(18) any other consideration the institution
considers necessary to accomplish the institution's stated
mission.
SECTION 4. Section 51.806, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 51.806. REPORT TO COORDINATING BOARD. Each general
academic teaching institution shall provide a report annually to
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board describing the
composition of the entering class of students admitted under this
subchapter. The report must [shall] include a demographic
breakdown, including a breakdown by race, ethnicity, and economic
status, of the students admitted under this subchapter [Sections
51.803, 51.804, and 51.805].
SECTION 5. Section 51.842(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A graduate or professional program of a general academic
teaching institution or medical or dental unit may consider the
following factors in making an admissions or scholarship decision
for admissions into or competitive scholarships for the graduate or
professional program:
(1) an applicant's academic record as a high school
student and undergraduate student;
(2) the socioeconomic background of the applicant
while the applicant attended elementary and secondary school and
was an undergraduate student, including any change in that
background;
(3) whether the applicant would be the first
generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
undergraduate program or from a graduate or professional program;
(4) whether the applicant has multilingual
proficiency;
(5) the applicant's responsibilities while attending
elementary and secondary school and as an undergraduate student,
including whether the applicant was employed, whether the applicant
helped to raise children, and other similar factors;
(6) to achieve geographic diversity, the applicant's
region of residence at the time of application and, if the applicant
graduated from a public high school in this state within the
preceding 20 years, the region in which the applicant's school
district is located;
(7) the applicant's involvement in community
activities;
(8) the applicant's demonstrated commitment to a
particular field of study;
(9) for admission into a professional program, the
current comparative availability of members of that profession in
the applicant's region of residence while the applicant attended
elementary and secondary school;
[(10) whether the applicant was automatically
admitted to a general academic teaching institution as an
undergraduate student under Section 51.803;] and
(10) [(11)] the applicant's personal interview.
SECTION 6. Sections 28.026, 51.803, 51.804, and 51.8045,
Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act applies
beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching
institution for the 2006-2007 academic year. Admissions for an
academic period preceding that academic year are covered by the law
in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
prior law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.