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By:  Shapleigh, Shapiro                                           S.B. No. 111


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to undergraduate course credit granted by public 
institutions of higher education for the completion of certain 
postsecondary-level programs by high school students.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 51.968 to read as follows:
	Sec. 51.968.  UNDERGRADUATE COURSE CREDIT FOR HIGH SCHOOL 
STUDENTS COMPLETING POSTSECONDARY-LEVEL PROGRAM.  (a)  In this 
section:
		(1)  "Advanced placement examination" means an 
examination administered through the advanced placement program.
		(2)  "CLEP examination" means an examination 
administered through the college-level examination program.
		(3)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher 
Education Coordinating Board.
		(4)  "Institution of higher education" means an 
institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, that 
offers freshman-level courses.
		(5)  "International baccalaureate diploma program" 
means the curriculum and examinations leading to an international 
baccalaureate diploma awarded by the International Baccalaureate 
Organization.
	(b)  Each institution of higher education that offers 
freshman-level courses shall adopt and implement a policy to grant 
undergraduate course credit to entering freshman students who have 
successfully completed the international baccalaureate diploma 
program, who have achieved required scores on one or more 
examinations in the advanced placement program or the college-level 
examination program, or who have successfully completed one or more 
courses offered through concurrent enrollment in high school and at 
an institution of higher education.
	(c)  In the policy, the institution shall:                              
		(1)  establish the institution's conditions for 
granting course credit, including the minimum required scores on 
CLEP examinations, advanced placement examinations, and 
examinations for courses constituting the international 
baccalaureate diploma program; and
		(2)  based on the correlations identified under 
Subsection (f), identify the specific course credit or other 
academic requirements of the institution, including the number of 
semester credit hours or other course credit, that the institution 
will grant to a student who successfully completes the diploma 
program, who successfully completes a course through concurrent 
enrollment, or who achieves required scores on CLEP examinations or 
advanced placement examinations.
	(d)  Each institution of higher education shall report to the 
coordinating board the institution's policy adopted under this 
section and shall include a copy of the policy with the 
institution's undergraduate student application materials, 
including application materials available on the institution's 
Internet website.
	(e)  On request of an applicant for admission as an entering 
freshman, an institution of higher education, based on information 
provided by the applicant, shall determine and notify the applicant 
regarding:
		(1)  the amount and type of any course credit that would 
be granted to the applicant under the policy; and
		(2)  any other academic requirement that the applicant 
would satisfy under the policy.
	(f)  The coordinating board, in consultation with the Texas 
Education Agency, shall:
		(1)  identify correlations between the subject matter 
and content of courses offered by each institution of higher 
education and the subject matter and content of courses and 
examinations in the international baccalaureate diploma program, 
the advanced placement program, and the college-level examination 
program; and
		(2)  make that information available to the public on 
the coordinating board's Internet website.
	(g)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an 
institution of higher education shall grant at least 24 semester 
credit hours or equivalent course credit in appropriate subject 
areas to an entering freshman student for successful completion of 
the international baccalaureate diploma program.  The institution 
may grant fewer than 24 semester credit hours if the student 
received a score of less than four on an examination administered as 
part of the diploma program.  The institution may grant fewer credit 
hours only with respect to courses that are substantially related 
to the subject of that examination.
	SECTION 2.  Each public institution of higher education in 
this state shall: 
		(1)  not later than December 31, 2005, adopt and make 
available to students and the public and to the Texas Higher 
Education Coordinating Board the policy required by Section 51.968, 
Education Code, as added by this Act; and
		(2)  implement the policy beginning with admissions to 
the institution for the 2006-2007 academic year.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.