BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3993

By: Paul

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In 2003, Texas law was amended to clearly state that homeschool graduates seeking college admission should be treated just like public school graduates because completion of a homeschool education is considered to be equivalent to graduation from a public high school. In 2015, this law was amended by S.B. 1543 to create a formula for assigning a class rank to homeschool graduates in the college admission process. While the 2015 formula applies to voluntary class rank college admission policies, it did not clearly apply to automatic admission under the top 10 percent rule. As voluntary policies have gone off the books at many colleges, confusion has arisen over whether colleges should still be using the class rank formula for homeschool students. H.B. 3993 seeks to ensure that homeschool students in Texas continue to receive fair treatment in the college admissions process by establishing requirements for the automatic admission of such students to public institutions of higher education under the top 10 percent rule.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

H.B. 3993 amends the Education Code to provide for an applicant for admission to a general academic teaching institution who completed secondary education in a nonaccredited private school setting, including a home school, to be admitted automatically as follows:

·         requiring the applicant, as a condition of the automatic admission, to fulfill the same requirements as an applicant who 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 U.S. Department of Defense; and

·         if the applicant's nontraditional secondary education does not include a high school graduating class ranking, requiring the institution in determining the applicant's eligibility for automatic admission to calculate the applicant's class rank according to the applicant's standardized testing scores.

The bill applies beginning with admissions to a public institution of higher education for the 2024 fall semester.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.