By: Middleton, et al. S.B. No. 1241

(In the Senate - Filed February 12, 2025; February 28, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education K-16; April 22, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 1; April 22, 2025, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1241 By: Paxton

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to college entrance examinations considered for admission to certain public institutions of higher education and a study by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board regarding those examinations.

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

SECTION 1. Section 51.803(a), Education Code, is amended 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 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:

(A) 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; or

(B) completed a nontraditional secondary education as defined by Section 51.9241;

(2) the applicant:

(A) successfully completed:

(i) at a public high school, the curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the distinguished level of achievement under the foundation 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 distinguished level of achievement under the foundation high school program; or

(B) achieved a score set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on a college entrance examination designated by coordinating board rule [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 54.241(d) for the term or semester to which admitted.

SECTION 2. Section 51.805(a), Education Code, is 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:

(1) successfully completed:

(A) at a public high school, the curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the foundation high school program; or

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

(2) achieved a score set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on a college entrance examination designated by coordinating board rule [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].

SECTION 3. Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 51.8031 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.8031. STUDY ON COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION SCORES. (a) In this section, "coordinating board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

(b) The coordinating board, in cooperation with institutions of higher education, shall conduct a study on college entrance examinations to determine which examinations to designate, and the score to set for each examination, under Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2).

(c) The study must:

(1) identify each college entrance examination with sufficient rigor and reliability to be designated for purposes of Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2); and

(2) determine the score for each examination identified under Subdivision (1) that demonstrates adequate performance for purposes of Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2).

(d) Not later than August 1, 2026, the coordinating board shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the chair of each standing legislative committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education a report on the results of the study and any recommendations for legislative or other action.

(e) This section expires September 1, 2027.

SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 51.803(a) and 51.805(a), Education Code, apply beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching institution for the 2026 fall semester. Admissions to a general academic teaching institution for a term or semester before the 2026 fall semester 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 5. In designating college entrance examinations and setting a score for those examinations for purposes of Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2), Education Code, as amended by this Act, for the 2026-2027 academic year, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall designate each college entrance examination and set the score for the examination that was used under those provisions as those provisions existed immediately before the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

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