81R910 KSD-D

By: Woolley H.B. No. 156

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to eliminating automatic admission to certain public institutions of higher education based on high school grade point average.

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

SECTION 1. Section 28.0252(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) If the commissioner develops a standard method under this section, a school district shall use the standard method to compute a student's high school grade point average[, except that to the extent of a conflict between that method and the method adopted under Section 51.807, the student's grade point average computed in accordance with the method established under Section 51.807 shall be used in determining the student's eligibility for university admission under Subchapter U, Chapter 51].

SECTION 2. 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;

[(8)] the eligibility and academic performance requirements for the TEXAS Grant as provided by Subchapter M, Chapter 56; and

(8) [(9)] the availability of programs in the district under which a student may earn college credit, including advanced placement programs, dual credit programs, joint high school and college credit programs, and international baccalaureate programs.

SECTION 3. Section 51.4032, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 51.4032. ANNUAL REPORT OF PARTICIPATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Not later than December 1 of each year and in the form prescribed by the coordinating board, each general academic teaching institution and medical and dental unit as defined in Section 61.003 shall provide to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and shall publish on the institution's website a report describing the composition of the institution's entering class of students. The report must include a demographic breakdown of the class, including a breakdown by race, ethnicity, economic status, and high school class standing. A report submitted by a general academic teaching institution or medical and dental unit as defined in Section 61.003 must include [separate demographic breakdowns of the students admitted under Sections 51.803, 51.804, and 51.805 and] a description of any plans, policies, or programs developed or implemented by the institution to recruit and retain students from underrepresented groups such as racial or ethnic minority groups.

SECTION 4. The heading to Section 51.805, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 51.805. UNDERGRADUATE [OTHER] ADMISSIONS.

SECTION 5. Sections 51.805(a), (b), and (e), 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 if the student satisfies the requirements of:

[(1) Section 51.803(a)(2)(A) or 51.803(b), as applicable to the student, or Section 51.803(a)(2)(B); and

[(2) Sections 51.803(c)(2) and 51.803(d).

[(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.

(e) This section does not apply to an institution that has an open enrollment policy[, except that a student may apply to a general academic teaching institution that has an open enrollment policy only if the student satisfies the requirements described by Subsection (a)].

SECTION 6. Section 51.807, Education Code, as amended by Chapters 941 (H.B. 3826) and 1369 (H.B. 3851), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:

Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. [(a) To ensure a uniform standard for admissions under this subchapter, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules establishing a standard method for computing a student's high school grade point average. The method established under this subsection:

[(1) must:

[(A) be based on a four-point scale; and

[(B) assign additional weight for each honors course, advanced placement course, international baccalaureate course, or dual credit course completed by the student as the board considers appropriate, taking into consideration the academic rigor of each course completed by the student; and

[(2) may result in a student having a grade point average higher than 4.0 on a four-point scale as a result of the assignment of additional weight for one or more courses completed by a student under Subdivision (1)(B).

[(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 in content and rigor to the curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the recommended or advanced high school program.

[(c)] The board may adopt [other] rules relating to the operation of admissions programs under this subchapter[, including rules relating to the identification of eligible students.

[(d) The standard method established under Subsection (a) for computing a student's high school grade point average applies to computing the grade point average of a student applying as a first-time freshman for admission to a general academic teaching institution beginning with admissions for the 2009 fall semester. This subsection expires January 1, 2010].

SECTION 7. 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 8. Sections 28.026, 51.803, 51.804, and 51.8045, Education Code, are repealed.

SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act applies beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching institution for the 2010-2011 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 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.