Amend SB 490 (house committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  Section 33.007, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) 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 each year of a student's enrollment in high school or at the high school level, a school counselor shall provide information about postsecondary education to the student and the student's parent or guardian.  The information must include information regarding:

(1)  the importance of postsecondary education;

(2)  the advantages of earning an endorsement and a performance acknowledgment and completing the distinguished level of achievement under the foundation high school program under Section 28.025;

(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]

(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; and

(10)  the availability of education and training vouchers and tuition and fee waivers to attend an institution of higher education as provided by Section 54.366 for a student who is or was previously in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

(b-1)  When providing information under Subsection (b)(10), the school counselor must report to the student and the student's parent or guardian the number of times the counselor has provided the information to the student.