Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB156 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R910 KSD-D
2	2	By: Woolley H.B. No. 156
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to eliminating automatic admission to certain public
8	8	institutions of higher education based on high school grade point
9	9	average.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 28.0252(b), Education Code, is amended
12	12	to read as follows:
13	13	(b) If the commissioner develops a standard method under
14	14	this section, a school district shall use the standard method to
15	15	compute a student's high school grade point average[, except that
16	16	to the extent of a conflict between that method and the method
17	17	adopted under Section 51.807, the student's grade point average
18	18	computed in accordance with the method established under Section
19	19	51.807 shall be used in determining the student's eligibility for
20	20	university admission under Subchapter U, Chapter 51].
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 33.007(b), Education Code, is amended to
22	22	read as follows:
23	23	(b) During the first school year a student is enrolled in a
24	24	high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment
25	25	charter school, and again during a student's senior year, a
26	26	counselor shall provide information about higher education to the
27	27	student and the student's parent or guardian. The information must
28	28	include information regarding:
29	29	(1) the importance of higher education;
30	30	(2) the advantages of completing the recommended or
31	31	advanced high school program adopted under Section 28.025(a);
32	32	(3) the disadvantages of taking courses to prepare for
33	33	a high school equivalency examination relative to the benefits of
34	34	taking courses leading to a high school diploma;
35	35	(4) financial aid eligibility;
36	36	(5) instruction on how to apply for federal financial
37	37	aid;
38	38	(6) the center for financial aid information
39	39	established under Section 61.0776;
40	40	(7) [the automatic admission of certain students to
41	41	general academic teaching institutions as provided by Section
42	42	51.803;
43	43	[(8)] the eligibility and academic performance
44	44	requirements for the TEXAS Grant as provided by Subchapter M,
45	45	Chapter 56; and
46	46	(8) [(9)] the availability of programs in the district
47	47	under which a student may earn college credit, including advanced
48	48	placement programs, dual credit programs, joint high school and
49	49	college credit programs, and international baccalaureate programs.
50	50	SECTION 3. Section 51.4032, Education Code, is amended to
51	51	read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 51.4032. ANNUAL REPORT OF PARTICIPATION IN HIGHER
53	53	EDUCATION. Not later than December 1 of each year and in the form
54	54	prescribed by the coordinating board, each general academic
55	55	teaching institution and medical and dental unit as defined in
56	56	Section 61.003 shall provide to the Texas Higher Education
57	57	Coordinating Board and shall publish on the institution's website a
58	58	report describing the composition of the institution's entering
59	59	class of students. The report must include a demographic breakdown
60	60	of the class, including a breakdown by race, ethnicity, economic
61	61	status, and high school class standing. A report submitted by a
62	62	general academic teaching institution or medical and dental unit as
63	63	defined in Section 61.003 must include [separate demographic
64	64	breakdowns of the students admitted under Sections 51.803, 51.804,
65	65	and 51.805 and] a description of any plans, policies, or programs
66	66	developed or implemented by the institution to recruit and retain
67	67	students from underrepresented groups such as racial or ethnic
68	68	minority groups.
69	69	SECTION 4. The heading to Section 51.805, Education Code,
70	70	is amended to read as follows:
71	71	Sec. 51.805. UNDERGRADUATE [OTHER] ADMISSIONS.
72	72	SECTION 5. Sections 51.805(a), (b), and (e), Education
73	73	Code, are amended to read as follows:
74	74	(a) [A graduating student who does not qualify for admission
75	75	under Section 51.803 or 51.804 may apply to any general academic
76	76	teaching institution if the student satisfies the requirements of:
77	77	[(1) Section 51.803(a)(2)(A) or 51.803(b), as
78	78	applicable to the student, or Section 51.803(a)(2)(B); and
79	79	[(2) Sections 51.803(c)(2) and 51.803(d).
80	80	[(b) The general academic teaching institution, after
81	81	admitting students under Sections 51.803 and 51.804, shall admit
82	82	other applicants for admission as undergraduate students.] It is
83	83	the intent of the legislature that all institutions of higher
84	84	education pursue academic excellence by considering students'
85	85	academic achievements in decisions related to admissions.
86	86	(b) Because of changing demographic trends, diversity, and
87	87	population increases in the state, each general academic teaching
88	88	institution shall also consider all of, any of, or a combination of
89	89	the following socioeconomic indicators or factors in making
90	90	first-time freshman admissions decisions:
91	91	(1) the applicant's academic record;
92	92	(2) the socioeconomic background of the applicant,
93	93	including the percentage by which the applicant's family is above
94	94	or below any recognized measure of poverty, the applicant's
95	95	household income, and the applicant's parents' level of education;
96	96	(3) whether the applicant would be the first
97	97	generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
98	98	institution of higher education;
99	99	(4) whether the applicant has bilingual proficiency;
100	100	(5) the financial status of the applicant's school
101	101	district;
102	102	(6) the performance level of the applicant's school as
103	103	determined by the school accountability criteria used by the Texas
104	104	Education Agency;
105	105	(7) the applicant's responsibilities while attending
106	106	school, including whether the applicant has been employed, whether
107	107	the applicant has helped to raise children, or other similar
108	108	factors;
109	109	(8) the applicant's region of residence;
110	110	(9) whether the applicant is a resident of a rural or
111	111	urban area or a resident of a central city or suburban area in the
112	112	state;
113	113	(10) the applicant's performance on standardized
114	114	tests;
115	115	(11) the applicant's performance on standardized tests
116	116	in comparison with that of other students from similar
117	117	socioeconomic backgrounds;
118	118	(12) whether the applicant attended any school while
119	119	the school was under a court-ordered desegregation plan;
120	120	(13) the applicant's involvement in community
121	121	activities;
122	122	(14) the applicant's extracurricular activities;
123	123	(15) the applicant's commitment to a particular field
124	124	of study;
125	125	(16) the applicant's personal interview;
126	126	(17) the applicant's admission to a comparable
127	127	accredited out-of-state institution; and
128	128	(18) any other consideration the institution
129	129	considers necessary to accomplish the institution's stated
130	130	mission.
131	131	(e) This section does not apply to an institution that has
132	132	an open enrollment policy[, except that a student may apply to a
133	133	general academic teaching institution that has an open enrollment
134	134	policy only if the student satisfies the requirements described by
135	135	Subsection (a)].
136	136	SECTION 6. Section 51.807, Education Code, as amended by
137	137	Chapters 941 (H.B. 3826) and 1369 (H.B. 3851), Acts of the 80th
138	138	Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted and amended to
139	139	read as follows:
140	140	Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. [(a) To ensure a uniform standard
141	141	for admissions under this subchapter, the Texas Higher Education
142	142	Coordinating Board shall adopt rules establishing a standard method
143	143	for computing a student's high school grade point average. The
144	144	method established under this subsection:
145	145	[(1) must:
146	146	[(A) be based on a four-point scale; and
147	147	[(B) assign additional weight for each honors
148	148	course, advanced placement course, international baccalaureate
149	149	course, or dual credit course completed by the student as the board
150	150	considers appropriate, taking into consideration the academic
151	151	rigor of each course completed by the student; and
152	152	[(2) may result in a student having a grade point
153	153	average higher than 4.0 on a four-point scale as a result of the
154	154	assignment of additional weight for one or more courses completed
155	155	by a student under Subdivision (1)(B).
156	156	[(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, after
157	157	consulting with the Texas Education Agency, by rule shall establish
158	158	standards for determining for purposes of this subchapter:
159	159	[(1) whether a private high school is accredited by a
160	160	generally recognized accrediting organization; and
161	161	[(2) whether a person completed a high school
162	162	curriculum that is equivalent in content and rigor to the
163	163	curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the
164	164	recommended or advanced high school program.
165	165	[(c)] The board may adopt [other] rules relating to the
166	166	operation of admissions programs under this subchapter[, including
167	167	rules relating to the identification of eligible students.
168	168	[(d) The standard method established under Subsection (a)
169	169	for computing a student's high school grade point average applies
170	170	to computing the grade point average of a student applying as a
171	171	first-time freshman for admission to a general academic teaching
172	172	institution beginning with admissions for the 2009 fall semester.
173	173	This subsection expires January 1, 2010].
174	174	SECTION 7. Section 51.842(a), Education Code, is amended to
175	175	read as follows:
176	176	(a) A graduate or professional program of a general academic
177	177	teaching institution or medical or dental unit may consider the
178	178	following factors in making an admissions or scholarship decision
179	179	for admissions into or competitive scholarships for the graduate or
180	180	professional program:
181	181	(1) an applicant's academic record as a high school
182	182	student and undergraduate student;
183	183	(2) the socioeconomic background of the applicant
184	184	while the applicant attended elementary and secondary school and
185	185	was an undergraduate student, including any change in that
186	186	background;
187	187	(3) whether the applicant would be the first
188	188	generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
189	189	undergraduate program or from a graduate or professional program;
190	190	(4) whether the applicant has multilingual
191	191	proficiency;
192	192	(5) the applicant's responsibilities while attending
193	193	elementary and secondary school and as an undergraduate student,
194	194	including whether the applicant was employed, whether the applicant
195	195	helped to raise children, and other similar factors;
196	196	(6) to achieve geographic diversity, the applicant's
197	197	region of residence at the time of application and, if the applicant
198	198	graduated from a public high school in this state within the
199	199	preceding 20 years, the region in which the applicant's school
200	200	district is located;
201	201	(7) the applicant's involvement in community
202	202	activities;
203	203	(8) the applicant's demonstrated commitment to a
204	204	particular field of study;
205	205	(9) for admission into a professional program, the
206	206	current comparative availability of members of that profession in
207	207	the applicant's region of residence while the applicant attended
208	208	elementary and secondary school;
209	209	[(10) whether the applicant was automatically
210	210	admitted to a general academic teaching institution as an
211	211	undergraduate student under Section 51.803;] and
212	212	(10) [(11)] the applicant's personal interview.
213	213	SECTION 8. Sections 28.026, 51.803, 51.804, and 51.8045,
214	214	Education Code, are repealed.
215	215	SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act applies
216	216	beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching
217	217	institution for the 2010-2011 academic year. Admissions for an
218	218	academic period preceding that academic year are covered by the law
219	219	in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
220	220	prior law is continued in effect for that purpose.
221	221	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.