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BILL ANALYSIS |
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By: Morrison |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Texas Education Code, Section 51.803 requires that students meet one or more criteria to be considered for admission to any general academic teaching institution. The main criteria are:
· Successfully complete the recommended or advanced high school curriculum (or the portion available at their specific high school);
· Successfully complete a curriculum comparable in content and rigor to the recommend curriculum;
· Satisfy the College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT test;
· Earn a score of at least 1,500 our 2,400 on the SAT exam.
The statute is effective for the first time in the Fall of 2009 and applies to all general academic teaching institutions (as defined by Section 61.003 of the Education Code), including those that have open admission policies. Lamar State College-Orange (LSC-O) and Lamar State College-Port Arthur (LSC-PA) are included in this statute. No other two-year, lower division institutions were impacted by this legislation. Community colleges are exempt.
There are many potential students who, for any number of reasons, fail to graduate from high school having met the requirements of this law. LSC-O and LSC-PA have historically been the institution to recruit and accept these students, offering them the opportunity to continue their education. They are no longer able to do so. CSHB 2424 will amend current law to allow LSC-O and LSC-PA to accept into their institutions students who graduate from high school having completed the minimum high school curriculum.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
CSHB 2424 amends the Education Code to provide that an applicant for admission to Lamar State College--Orange or Lamar State College--Port Arthur is not required to satisfy the requirements prescribed by Section 51.805 of the Education Code; as long as those institutions operate as two-year lower-division institutions of higher education.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 2424 differs from the original by exempting Lamar State College–Orange and Lamar
State College–Port Arthur, as long as such institutions operate as two-year lower-division
institutions, from the uniform admissions policy provisions requiring an applicant for admission
to a public college or university who does not qualify for automatic admission to have met
certain minimum high school graduation or college entrance examination requirement, whereas
the original exempts the individual applicant for admission to either of the two institutions,
rather than the institutions themselves, from having to meet those admissions requirements.