By: Shapiro, et al. S.B. No. 175
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the admission of undergraduate students to general
academic teaching institutions, including limitations on automatic
admission, and to scholarships for certain students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), and
(g) to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), each [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 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 2010-2011 academic
year, a general academic teaching institution is not required to
admit under Subsection (a) more than 60 percent of the
institution's first-time resident undergraduate students in an
academic year. If the number of applicants who qualify for
automatic admission to a general academic teaching institution
under Subsection (a) exceeds 60 percent of the institution's
enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident
undergraduate students, the institution may elect to offer
admission to those applicants as provided by this subsection and
not as otherwise required by Subsection (a). If the institution
elects to offer admission under this subsection, the institution
shall offer admission to those applicants by percentile rank
according to class standing based on 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 institution as sufficient to fill 50 percent of
the institution's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
resident undergraduate students, except that the institution must
offer admission to all applicants with the same percentile rank. In
addition to those admissions, until applicants qualified under
Subsection (a) have been offered admission in the number estimated
in good faith by the institution as sufficient to fill 60 percent of
the designated enrollment capacity described by this subsection,
the institution shall offer to applicants qualified for automatic
admission under Subsection (a) admission in the same manner as
other applicants for admission as first-time undergraduate
students in accordance with Section 51.805, except that the
institution may not consider applicants other than those applicants
qualified under Subsection (a). 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 60 percent of the designated enrollment
capacity described by this subsection, the institution 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. This subsection and Subsection
(a-2) have no effect after the eighth consecutive academic year in
which a general academic teaching institution has had the option of
electing to offer admission to applicants under this subsection.
(a-2) In the manner prescribed by the Texas Education Agency
and not later than April 15, a general academic teaching
institution shall provide to each school district, for
dissemination of the information to high school junior-level
students and their parents, notice of:
(1) which percentile ranks of high school senior-level
students are anticipated by the institution to be automatically
offered admission under Subsection (a-1) during the next school
year if:
(A) the number of applicants to the institution
during the current school year who qualify for automatic admission
to the institution under Subsection (a) exceeds 60 percent of the
institution's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
resident undergraduate students; and
(B) the institution plans to offer admission
under Subsection (a-1) during the next school year; and
(2) any scholarship program administered by the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board for the purpose of encouraging
students who qualify for automatic admission under Subsection (a)
to attend public institutions of higher education in this state.
(g) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by rule
shall develop and implement a program to increase and enhance the
efforts of general academic teaching institutions in conducting
outreach to academically high-performing high school seniors in
this state who are likely to be eligible for automatic admission
under Subsection (a) to provide to those students information and
counseling regarding the operation of this section and other
opportunities, including financial assistance, available to those
students for success at public institutions of higher education in
this state. Under the program, the coordinating board, after
gathering information and recommendations from available sources
and examining current outreach practices by institutions in this
state and in other states, shall prescribe best practices
guidelines and standards to be used by general academic teaching
institutions in conducting the student outreach described by this
subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 28.026, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 28.026. NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC COLLEGE ADMISSION. (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) [(3)] provide each eligible senior student under
Section 51.803, at the commencement of a class's senior year, with a
written notification of the student's eligibility with a detailed
explanation of the substance of Section 51.803.
(b) The commissioner shall adopt forms to use in providing
notice under Subsections (a)(2) and (4). In providing notice under
Subsection (a)(2) or (4), a school district shall use the
appropriate form adopted by the commissioner.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt procedures to ensure that,
as soon as practicable after this subsection becomes law, each
school district provides written notification of the substance of
Section 51.803, as amended by the 81st Legislature, Regular
Session, 2009, to each district student who, for the 2009-2010
school year, registers for one or more courses required for high
school graduation. The commissioner may adopt rules under this
subsection in the manner provided by law for emergency rules. Each
district shall comply with the procedures adopted by the
commissioner under this subsection. This subsection expires
September 1, 2010.
SECTION 3. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter R to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER R. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING
IN TOP 10 PERCENT OF HIGH SCHOOL CLASS
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 in the top 10 percent
of their graduating class.
Sec. 56.482. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(3) "Program" means the scholarship program
authorized by this subchapter.
Sec. 56.483. AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP. (a) The coordinating
board shall award scholarships to eligible students under this
subchapter.
(b) An institution of higher education shall provide to a
student who receives a scholarship under the program for a semester
or other academic term:
(1) a credit in the amount of the scholarship, to be
applied toward the payment of any amount of educational costs
charged by the institution for that semester or term; and
(2) a check, electronic transfer, or other
disbursement of any remaining scholarship amount.
(c) An amount paid under Subsection (b)(2) may be applied
only to any usual and customary cost incurred by the student to
attend the institution of higher education.
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 while ranked in the top 10 percent of the
student's graduating class, subject to Section 56.486(b);
(2) have completed the recommended or advanced high
school curriculum established under Section 28.025 or its
equivalent;
(3) have unmet financial need, as defined by
coordinating board rule;
(4) enroll as a first-time freshman student in an
institution of higher education not earlier than the 2010-2011
academic year and not later than the 16th month after the date of
the student's high school graduation;
(5) be a Texas resident under Section 54.052; and
(6) comply with any other eligibility requirements
established by coordinating board rule.
Sec. 56.485. AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP; LIMITATION.
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), the amount of a
scholarship for each semester or other academic term in which an
eligible student is enrolled at an institution of higher education
is an amount not to exceed the student's tuition. The coordinating
board shall issue to each eligible student a certificate indicating
the amount of the scholarship awarded to the student.
(b) The coordinating board may award a bonus amount, not to
exceed an additional $1,000 for each semester or other academic
term, to each eligible student who:
(1) is classified as a junior or senior at an
institution of higher education;
(2) has declared a major in a field with a workforce
shortage, as determined by coordinating board rule; and
(3) makes satisfactory academic progress as required
by Section 56.488.
(c) The legislature shall account in the General
Appropriations Act for the exemptions authorized by Subsection (a)
in a way that provides a corresponding increase in the general
revenue funds appropriated to the institution of higher education.
(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
awarded to the student.
Sec. 56.486. APPLICATION PROCEDURE. (a) The coordinating
board shall establish application procedures for the program. The
procedures may require an officer of the applicable high school or
school district to verify the eligibility of a student to receive a
scholarship under the program.
(b) The coordinating board may permit a student to establish
initial eligibility based on the student's 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 class rank on graduation from
high school.
(c) The coordinating board may consider applications
received after the application deadline only if sufficient funding
for scholarships remains after the board awards scholarships to all
eligible students who applied on or before the deadline.
(d) The coordinating board shall establish procedures to
notify each eligible student of the receipt of a scholarship under
the program and to enable an institution of higher education to
verify the award of a scholarship to a student who is enrolled at
that institution.
Sec. 56.487. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP.
(a) After establishing eligibility to receive an initial
scholarship under the program, a student may continue to receive
additional scholarships during each subsequent semester or other
academic term in which the student is enrolled at an institution of
higher education if the student:
(1) has unmet financial need, as defined by
coordinating board rule;
(2) makes satisfactory academic progress as required
by Section 56.488;
(3) submits to the institution transcripts for any
coursework completed at other public or private institutions of
higher education; and
(4) complies with any other eligibility requirements
established by coordinating board rule.
(b) If a student fails to meet any of the requirements of
Subsection (a) after completing a semester or other academic term,
the student may not receive a scholarship during the next semester
or other academic term in which the student enrolls. A student may
become eligible to receive a scholarship in a subsequent semester
or term if the student:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
(c) Except as provided by Section 56.489(b), a student's
eligibility for a scholarship under the program ends on the fourth
anniversary of the first day of the semester or other academic term
for which the student was awarded an initial scholarship under the
program.
Sec. 56.488. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS. (a) For each
academic year in which a student receives one or more scholarships
under the program, the student must:
(1) complete for that year:
(A) at least 75 percent of all credit hours
attempted, as determined by the institution of higher education in
which the student is enrolled; and
(B) at least 30 credit hours or the number of
credit hours needed to complete the student's degree or certificate
program, whichever is less; and
(2) except as permitted by Subsection (b), maintain an
overall grade point average of at least 3.25 on a four-point scale
or its equivalent for all coursework attempted at any public or
private institution of higher education.
(b) A student who receives a bonus amount under Section
56.485(b) must maintain during the student's junior or senior year
an overall grade point average of at least 3.00 on a four-point
scale or its equivalent for all coursework attempted at any public
or private institution of higher education.
Sec. 56.489. EXCEPTION FOR HARDSHIP OR OTHER GOOD CAUSE.
(a) Each institution of higher education shall adopt a policy to
allow a student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress as
required by Section 56.488 to receive a scholarship in a subsequent
semester or other academic term on a showing of hardship or other
good cause, including:
(1) a showing of a severe illness or other
debilitating condition that could affect the student's academic
performance; or
(2) an indication that the student is responsible for
the care of a sick, injured, or needy person and that the student's
provision of care could affect the student's academic performance
or any other cause deemed acceptable by the coordinating board.
(b) An institution of higher education may extend the
eligibility period described by Section 56.487(c) in the event of
hardship or other good cause as provided by the institution's
policy adopted under Subsection (a).
(c) An institution of higher education shall maintain
documentation of each exception granted to a student under this
section and shall provide timely notice of those exceptions to the
coordinating board.
Sec. 56.490. PUBLICATION OF PROGRAM INFORMATION. (a) The
coordinating board shall publish and disseminate general
information and rules for the program as provided by Subsection (b)
and as otherwise considered appropriate by the board.
(b) The coordinating board shall provide application
instructions to:
(1) each school district and each institution of
higher education; and
(2) an individual student on request.
Sec. 56.491. REIMBURSEMENT. (a) Each institution of
higher education that provides scholarships under the program to
eligible students enrolled at the institution is entitled to
reimbursement by the coordinating board of the amounts provided.
The institution must request reimbursement in the manner specified
by coordinating board rule.
(b) On approval of an institution's request for
reimbursement, the coordinating board shall direct the comptroller
to transfer the appropriate amount to the institution. The
institution may use the transferred funds as reimbursement for any
credits provided to students under this subchapter, to reimburse
students for charges previously paid to the institution, or to make
scholarship payments to students, as applicable.
Sec. 56.492. RULES. The coordinating board shall adopt
rules as necessary to administer the program under this subchapter.
SECTION 4. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter R, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
emergency rules.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter R, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
for an academic year before the 2010-2011 academic year.
SECTION 5. 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, 2009.