82R4733 KSD-D

By: Woolley H.B. No. 1193

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the eligibility requirements for automatic admission of undergraduate students to four-year public institutions of higher education and to certain scholarship and reporting and notice requirements relating to automatic admission.

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

SECTION 1. Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding Subsections (a-7) and (a-8) to read as follows:

(a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), each general academic teaching institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated with a core curriculum 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:

(A) successfully completed:

(i) at a public high school, the curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the recommended or advanced high school program; or

(ii) at a high school to which Section 28.025 does not apply, a curriculum that is equivalent in content and rigor to the recommended or advanced high school program; or

(B) satisfied ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT assessment applicable to the applicant or earned on the SAT assessment a score of at least 1,500 out of 2,400 or the equivalent; and

(3) if the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense, the applicant is a Texas resident under Section 54.052 or is 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.

(a-1) Beginning with admissions for the 2011-2012 academic year, The University of Texas at Austin is not required to offer admission to applicants who qualify for automatic admission under Subsection (a) in excess of the number required to fill 75 percent of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students in an academic year. If the number of applicants who qualify for automatic admission to The University of Texas at Austin under Subsection (a) for an academic year exceeds 75 percent of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students for that academic year, the university may elect to offer admission to those applicants as provided by this subsection and not as otherwise required by Subsection (a). If the university elects to offer admission under this subsection, the university shall offer admission to those applicants by percentile rank according to high school graduating class standing based on core curriculum grade point average, beginning with the top percentile rank, until the applicants qualified under Subsection (a) have been offered admission in the number estimated in good faith by the university as sufficient to fill 75 percent of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students, except that the university must offer admission to all applicants with the same percentile rank. After the applicants qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a) have been offered admission under this subsection in the number estimated in good faith as sufficient to fill 75 percent of the designated enrollment capacity described by this subsection, the university shall consider any remaining applicants qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a) in the same manner as other applicants for admission as first-time undergraduate students in accordance with Section 51.805.

(a-7) For purposes of this section, a student's core curriculum grade point average is determined by computing a student's grade point average only for those nonelective courses required by State Board of Education rules for a student's high school graduation under the high school program applicable to the student under Section 28.025 or, at a high school to which Section 28.025 does not apply, the comparable nonelective courses required for a student's graduation. The State Board of Education may adopt rules for determining whether a particular course is included in the core curriculum for purposes of this subsection.

(a-8) Each school district shall compute a student's core curriculum grade point average and graduating class standing according to core curriculum grade point average for purposes of this section.

SECTION 2. Section 51.804, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 51.804. ADDITIONAL AUTOMATIC ADMISSIONS: SELECTED INSTITUTIONS. For each academic year, the governing board of each general academic teaching institution shall determine whether to adopt an admissions policy under which an applicant to the institution as a first-time freshman student, other than an applicant eligible for admission under Section 51.803, shall be admitted to the institution if the applicant:

(1) graduated from a public or private high school in this state accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization with a core curriculum grade point average, as determined under Section 51.803(a-7), in the top 25 percent of the applicant's high school graduating class; and

(2) satisfies the requirements of:

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

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

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

(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) not later than the 14th day after the last day of classes for the fall semester or an equivalent date in the case of a school operated on a year-round system under Section 25.084, provide each eligible senior student under Section 51.803 and each student enrolled in the junior year of high school who has a core curriculum grade point average, as determined under Section 51.803(a-7), in the top 10 percent of the student's high school class, and the student's parent or guardian, with a written notification of the student's eligibility with a detailed explanation in plain language of the substance of Section 51.803.

SECTION 4. Section 33.007(c), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) At the beginning of grades 10 and 11, a school counselor certified under the rules of the State Board for Educator Certification shall explain the requirements of automatic admission to a general academic teaching institution under Section 51.803 to each student enrolled in a high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment charter school who has a core curriculum grade point average, as determined under Section 51.803(a-7), in the top 25 percent of the student's high school class.

SECTION 5. The heading to Subchapter R, Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER R. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING WITH CORE

CURRICULUM GRADE POINT AVERAGE IN TOP 10 PERCENT OF HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS

SECTION 6. Sections 56.481 and 56.484, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

Sec. 56.481. PURPOSE. The purpose of this program is to encourage attendance at public institutions of higher education in this state by outstanding high school students who graduated with a core curriculum grade point average, as determined under Section 51.803(a-7), in the top 10 percent of their graduating class.

Sec. 56.484. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. To be eligible for a scholarship under this subchapter, a student must:

(1) have graduated from a public or accredited private high school in this state with a core curriculum grade point average, as determined under Section 51.803(a-7), in the [while ranked in the] top 10 percent of the student's graduating class, subject to Section 56.487(b);

(2) have completed the recommended or advanced high school curriculum established under Section 28.025 or its equivalent;

(3) have applied for admission as a first-time freshman student for the 2010-2011 academic year or a subsequent academic year to an institution of higher education that has elected to offer admissions for that academic year to applicants as provided by Section 51.803(a-1);

(4) enroll as a first-time freshman student in an institution of higher education not later than the 16th month after the date of the student's high school graduation;

(5) have been awarded a TEXAS grant under Subchapter M for the same semester or other academic term for which the scholarship will be awarded;

(6) be a Texas resident under Section 54.052; and

(7) comply with any other eligibility requirements established by coordinating board rule.

SECTION 7. Section 56.487(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The coordinating board may permit a student to establish initial eligibility based on the student's core curriculum grade point average class rank at the end of the student's seventh semester in high school. The board may revoke an initial scholarship awarded to a student who subsequently loses eligibility based on the student's core curriculum grade point average class rank on graduation from high school. For purposes of this subsection, a student's core curriculum grade point average is determined under Section 51.803(a-7).

SECTION 8. Section 61.0902(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Not later than the next November 1 following the completion of an academic year, each general academic teaching institution shall provide to the board one or more reports containing data related to:

(1) the qualifications of the entering freshman class for the academic year covered by the report, including:

(A) the average Texas Academic Skills Program Test scores of the class;

(B) the average scores of the class on each generally recognized test or assessment used in college and university undergraduate admissions, including the Scholastic Assessment Test and the American College Test;

(C) the range of scores of the class from the 25th to the 75th percentile on each generally recognized test or assessment used in college and university undergraduate admissions, including the Scholastic Assessment Test and the American College Test;

(D) the overall grade point average of the class for the academic year covered by the report;

(E) the number of students in the class who graduated with a core curriculum grade point average, as determined under Section 51.803(a-7), in the top 10 percent of the student's high school graduating class; and

(F) enrollment percentages by ethnicity; and

(2) student performance and institution efficiency, including:

(A) the retention rate of full-time students after the completion of one academic year at the institution;

(B) the percentage of full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students who earn a baccalaureate degree before the sixth anniversary of the date of the student's first enrollment at the institution;

(C) the percentage of lower-division semester credit hours taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty;

(D) the percentage of undergraduate classes with fewer than 20 students;

(E) the percentage of undergraduate classes with more than 50 students;

(F) the student-to-faculty ratio for undergraduate students;

(G) the percentage of students receiving financial aid;

(H) the average cost of tuition and fees for an undergraduate student enrolled for 12 semester credit hours;

(I) the average cost of on-campus room and board for an academic year, excluding summer sessions;

(J) the number of disciplines in which master's degrees are offered;

(K) the number of disciplines in which doctoral degrees are offered;

(L) a description of any departments, schools, or certificate or degree programs of the institution that have a statewide or national reputation for excellence; and

(M) statistics regarding job placement rates for students awarded certificates or degrees by the institution.

SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 51.803 and 51.804, Education Code, apply beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching institution for the 2015-2016 academic year. Admissions to a general academic teaching institution 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 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act to Subchapter R, Chapter 56, Education Code, apply beginning with scholarships awarded for the 2015-2016 academic year. Scholarships awarded under that subchapter for an academic year preceding that academic year are governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 2013.