80R2632 KSD-D

By: West, Royce S.B. No. 128

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the eligibility of a high school graduate for automatic admission to an institution of higher education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 51.803 and 51.807, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

Sec. 51.803. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION: ALL INSTITUTIONS. (a) Each general academic teaching institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's high school graduating class in one of the two school years preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for admission and:

(1) the applicant graduated from a public or private high school in this state accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense;

(2) the applicant completed the curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the recommended or advanced high school program, or an equivalent curriculum at a high school to which that section does not apply; and

(3)[. To qualify for admission under this section, an applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any application filing deadline established by the institution and,] if the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense, the applicant is [must be] a Texas resident under Section 54.052 or is [be] entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for the term or semester to which admitted.

(b) To qualify for admission under this section, an applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any application filing deadline established by the institution.

(c) After admitting an applicant under this section, the institution shall review the applicant's record and any other factor the institution considers appropriate to determine whether the applicant may require additional preparation for college-level work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program. The institution may require a student so identified to enroll during the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this section to participate in appropriate enrichment courses and orientation programs. This section does not prohibit a student who is not determined to need additional preparation for college-level work from enrolling, if the student chooses, during the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this section.

(d) Subsection (a)(2) applies beginning with admissions for the 2010-2011 academic year. Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to an applicant who graduated from a public high school that does not offer the curriculum established under Section 28.025 for the recommended or advanced high school program.

(e) An applicant who does not satisfy the curriculum requirements of Subsection (a)(2) is considered to have satisfied those requirements if the high school from which the student graduated indicates on the student's transcript that the student completed the portion of the curriculum that was available to the student but was unable to complete the curriculum solely because courses necessary to complete the curriculum were unavailable to the student at the appropriate times in the student's high school career as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the student's control.

Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of admissions programs under this subchapter, including rules relating to the identification of eligible students [and the reporting requirements of Section 51.806].

(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board after consulting with the Texas Education Agency by rule shall establish standards for determining for purposes of this subchapter:

(1) whether a private high school is accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization; and

(2) whether a person completed a high school curriculum that is equivalent to the curriculum established under Section 28.025 for the recommended or advanced high school program.

SECTION 2. Section 28.025(g), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(g) If a student, other than a student permitted to take courses under the minimum high school program as provided by Subsection (b), is unable to complete the recommended or advanced high school program solely because necessary courses were unavailable to the student at the appropriate times in the student's high school career as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the student's control, the school district, [shall indicate that fact] on the student's transcript form described by Subsection (e), shall:

(1) indicate whether the student completed those courses necessary to complete the program that were available to the student; and

(2) identify those courses necessary to complete the program that were unavailable to the student as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the student's control.

SECTION 3. Section 28.026, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 28.026. NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC COLLEGE ADMISSION. (a) The board of trustees of a school district shall require each high school in the district to post appropriate signs in each counselor's office, in each principal's office, and in each administrative building indicating the substance of Section 51.803 regarding automatic college admission. To assist in the dissemination of this information, the school district shall:

(1) require that each high school counselor and class advisor be provided a detailed explanation of the substance of Section 51.803;

(2) provide each district student, at the time the student first registers for one or more classes required for high school graduation, with a written notification of the substance of Section 51.803;

(3) require that each high school counselor and senior class advisor explain to eligible students the substance of Section 51.803; and

(4) [(3)] provide each eligible senior student under Section 51.803, at the commencement of a class's senior year, with a written notification of the student's eligibility with a detailed explanation of the substance of Section 51.803.

(b) The commissioner shall adopt forms to use in providing notice under Subsections (a)(2) and (4). In providing notice under Subsection (a)(2) or (4), a school district shall use the appropriate form adopted by the commissioner.

(c) The commissioner shall adopt procedures to ensure that, as soon as practicable after this subsection becomes law, each school district provides written notification of the substance of Section 51.803, as amended by the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, to each district student who, for the 2007-2008 school year, registers for the first time for one or more courses required for high school graduation. The commissioner may adopt rules under this subsection in the manner provided by law for emergency rules. Each district shall comply with the procedures adopted by the commissioner under this subsection. This subsection expires September 1, 2008.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.