S.B. No. 175
AN ACT
relating to the automatic admission of undergraduate students to
certain general academic teaching institutions and to scholarship
and other programs to facilitate enrollment at institutions of
higher education.
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), (a-3),
(a-4), (a-5), (a-6), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l) 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 2011-2012 academic
year, The University of Texas at Austin is not required to offer
admission to applicants who qualify for automatic admission under
Subsection (a) in excess of the number required to fill 75 percent
of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
resident undergraduate students in an academic year. If the number
of applicants who qualify for automatic admission to The University
of Texas at Austin under Subsection (a) for an academic year exceeds
75 percent of the university's enrollment capacity designated for
first-time resident undergraduate students for that academic year,
the university may elect to offer admission to those applicants as
provided by this subsection and not as otherwise required by
Subsection (a). If the university elects to offer admission under
this subsection, the university shall offer admission to those
applicants by percentile rank according to high school graduating
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 university as sufficient to fill 75 percent of the
university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
resident undergraduate students, except that the university must
offer admission to all applicants with the same percentile rank.
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 75 percent
of the designated enrollment capacity described by this subsection,
the university 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.
(a-2) If the number of applicants who apply to a general
academic teaching institution during the current academic year for
admission in the next academic year and who qualify for automatic
admission to a general academic teaching institution under
Subsection (a) exceeds 75 percent of the institution's enrollment
capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students
for that next academic year and the institution plans to offer
admission under Subsection (a-1) during the next school year, the
institution shall, in the manner prescribed by the Texas Education
Agency and not later than September 15, provide to each school
district, for dissemination of the information to high school
junior-level students and their parents, notice of which percentile
ranks of high school senior-level students who qualify for
automatic admission under Subsection (a) are anticipated by the
institution to be offered admission under Subsection (a-1) during
the next school year.
(a-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (a-1), The University of
Texas at Austin may not offer admission under that subsection for an
academic year after the 2015-2016 academic year.
(a-4) If The University of Texas at Austin elects to offer
admission to first-time resident undergraduate students under
Subsection (a-1) for an academic year, the university must continue
its practice of not considering an applicant's legacy status as a
factor in the university's decisions relating to admissions for
that academic year.
(a-5) A general academic teaching institution that offers
admission to first-time resident undergraduate students under
Subsection (a-1) shall require that a student admitted under that
subsection complete a designated portion of not less than six
semester credit hours of the student's coursework during evening
hours or other low-demand hours as necessary to ensure the
efficient use of the institution's available classrooms.
(a-6) Not later than December 31 of each academic year in
which The University of Texas at Austin offers admission under
Subsection (a-1), the university shall deliver a written report to
the governor, the lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
representatives regarding the university's progress in each of the
following matters:
(1) increasing geographic diversity of the entering
freshman class;
(2) counseling and outreach efforts aimed at students
qualified for automatic admission under this section;
(3) recruiting Texas residents who graduate from other
institutions of higher education to the university's graduate and
professional degree programs;
(4) recruiting students who are members of
underrepresented demographic segments of the state's population;
and
(5) assessing and improving the university's regional
recruitment centers.
(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.
(h) An institution that admits under this section an
applicant qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a)
may admit the applicant for either the fall semester of the academic
year for which the applicant applies or for the summer session
preceding that fall semester, as determined by the institution.
(i) If a general academic teaching institution denies
admission to an applicant for an academic year, in any letter or
other communication the institution provides to the applicant
notifying the applicant of that denial, the institution may not
reference the provisions of this section, including using a
description of a provision of this section such as the top 10
percent automatic admissions law, as a reason the institution is
unable to offer admission to the applicant unless the number of
applicants for admission to the institution for that academic year
who qualify for automatic admission under Subsection (a) is
sufficient to fill 100 percent of the institution's enrollment
capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate
students.
(j) A general academic teaching institution that elects to
offer admission under Subsection (a-1) for an academic year may not
offer admission to first-time undergraduate students who are not
residents of this state for that academic year in excess of the
number required to fill 10 percent of the institution's enrollment
capacity designated for first-time undergraduate students for that
academic year.
(k) A general academic teaching institution may not offer
admission under Subsection (a-1) for an academic year if, on the
date of the institution's general deadline for applications for
admission of first-time undergraduate students for that academic
year:
(1) a final court order applicable to the institution
prohibits the institution from considering an applicant's race or
ethnicity as a factor in the institution's decisions relating to
first-time undergraduate admissions; or
(2) the institution's governing board by rule, policy,
or other manner has provided that an applicant's race or ethnicity
may not be considered as a factor in the institution's decisions
relating to first-time undergraduate admissions, except that this
subdivision does not apply to an institution that did not consider,
on or before June 1, 2009, an applicant's race or ethnicity as a
factor in its admissions of first-time resident undergraduate
students for the 2009-2010 academic year.
(l) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
publish an annual report on the impact of Subsection (a-1) on the
state's goal of closing college access and achievement gaps under
"Closing the Gaps," the state's master plan for higher education,
with respect to students of an institution that offers admission
under that subsection, disaggregated by race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, and geographic region and by whether the high
school from which the student graduated was a small school, as
defined by the commissioner of education, or a public high school
that is ranked among the lowest 20 percent of public high schools
according to the percentage of each high school's graduates who
enroll in a four-year institution, including a general academic
teaching institution, in one of the two academic years following
the year of the applicant's high school graduation. On request, a
general academic teaching institution that offers admission under
Subsection (a-1) shall provide the board with any information the
board considers necessary for the completion of the report required
by this subsection.
SECTION 2. Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.8035 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.8035. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION OF APPLICANTS COMPLETING
CORE CURRICULUM AT ANOTHER INSTITUTION. (a) In this section:
(1) "Core curriculum" means the core curriculum
adopted by an institution of higher education under Section 61.822.
(2) "General academic teaching institution" has the
meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) A general academic teaching institution shall admit an
applicant for admission to the institution as a transfer
undergraduate student who:
(1) graduated from high school not earlier than the
fourth school year before the academic year for which the applicant
seeks admission to the institution as a transfer student and:
(A) qualified for automatic admission to a
general academic teaching institution under Section 51.803 at the
time of graduation; or
(B) was previously offered admission under this
subchapter to the institution to which the applicant seeks
admission as a transfer student;
(2) first enrolled in a public junior college or other
public or private lower-division institution of higher education
not earlier than the third academic year before the academic year
for which the applicant seeks admission;
(3) completed the core curriculum at a public junior
college or other public or private lower-division institution of
higher education with a cumulative grade point average of at least
2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent; and
(4) submits a completed application for admission as a
transfer student before the expiration of any application filing
deadline established by the institution.
(c) For purposes of this section, transfer semester credit
hours from a different institution of higher education and semester
credit hours earned by examination shall be included in determining
whether the person completed the core curriculum at an institution
of higher education.
(d) It is the responsibility of the applicant for admission
under this section to:
(1) expressly and clearly claim in the application
entitlement to admission under this section; and
(2) timely provide to the general academic teaching
institution the documentation required by the institution to
determine the student's entitlement to admission under this
section.
SECTION 3. 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) not later than the 14th day after the last day of
classes for the fall semester or an equivalent date in the case of a
school operated on a year-round system under Section
25.084, [(3)] provide each eligible senior student under Section
51.803 and each student enrolled in the junior year of high school
who has a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's
high school class, and the student's parent or guardian [at the
commencement of a class's senior year], with a written notification
of the student's eligibility with a detailed explanation in plain
language 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. The notice to a
student and the student's parent or guardian under Subsection
(a)(4) must be on a single form that may contain one or more
signature lines to indicate receipt of notice by the student or the
student's parent or guardian.
(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 4. Section 33.007, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) At the beginning of grades 10 and 11, a school counselor
certified under the rules of the State Board for Educator
Certification shall explain the requirements of automatic
admission to a general academic teaching institution under Section
51.803 to each student enrolled in a high school or at the high
school level in an open-enrollment charter school who has a grade
point average in the top 25 percent of the student's high school
class.
SECTION 5. 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 56.487(b);
(2) have completed the recommended or advanced high
school curriculum established under Section 28.025 or its
equivalent;
(3) have applied for admission as a first-time
freshman student for the 2010-2011 academic year or a subsequent
academic year to an institution of higher education that has
elected to offer admissions for that academic year to applicants as
provided by Section 51.803(a-1);
(4) enroll as a first-time freshman student in an
institution of higher education not later than the 16th month after
the date of the student's high school graduation;
(5) have been awarded a TEXAS grant under Subchapter M
for the same semester or other academic term for which the
scholarship will be awarded;
(6) be a Texas resident under Section 54.052; and
(7) comply with any other eligibility requirements
established by coordinating board rule.
Sec. 56.485. INELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP.
Notwithstanding Section 56.484, a student is not eligible for an
initial or subsequent scholarship under this subchapter if the
student was offered admission as a first-time freshman student to
any institution of higher education for an academic year for which
that institution made admissions under Section 51.803(a-1),
regardless of whether the student subsequently enrolls at that
institution.
Sec. 56.486. AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), 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
sufficient to cover, but not exceed, the amount of tuition charged
to the student for that semester or term.
(b) The amount of a scholarship for each semester or other
academic term may not exceed the amount of the student's unmet
financial need for that semester or term after any other gift aid
has been awarded.
(c) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
awarded to the student.
Sec. 56.487. 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. 56.488. 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) makes satisfactory academic progress as required
by Section 56.489;
(2) submits to the institution transcripts for any
coursework completed at other public or private institutions of
higher education;
(3) has been awarded a TEXAS grant under Subchapter M
for the same semester or other academic term for which the
scholarship will be awarded; 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 56.490(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. 56.489. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS. 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) 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.
Sec. 56.490. 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 56.489 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;
(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
(3) any other cause considered acceptable by the
coordinating board.
(b) An institution of higher education may extend the
eligibility period described by Section 56.488(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. 56.491. 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. 56.492. 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. 56.493. RULES. The coordinating board shall adopt
rules as necessary to administer the program under this subchapter.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.07622 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.07622. HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PLAN. (a) The
board shall develop a plan under which each public high school in
this state that is, as determined by the board in accordance with
board rule, substantially below the state average in the number of
graduates who attend public or private or independent institutions
of higher education is required to:
(1) provide to prospective students information
related to enrollment in public or private or independent
institutions of higher education, including admissions and
financial aid information; and
(2) assist those prospective students in completing
applications related to enrollment in those institutions,
including admissions and financial aid applications.
SECTION 7. The purpose of the reforms provided for in this
Act is to continue and facilitate progress in general academic
teaching institutions in this state with regard to the racial,
ethnic, demographic, geographic, and rural/urban diversity of the
student bodies of those institutions in undergraduate, graduate,
and professional education, including the participation goals
identified in the "Closing the Gaps" initiative, the state's master
plan for higher education. Nothing in this Act prevents a general
academic teaching institution in this state from engaging in
appropriate individualized holistic review, consistent with that
purpose, for the admission of students who are not entitled to
automatic admission under Section 51.803, Education Code, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 8. The commissioner of education shall adopt a form
for notifying eligible high school seniors and their parents or
guardians of automatic college admission as required by Section
28.026, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as
practicable after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. (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 10. Section 51.8035, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with admissions to a general academic
teaching institution for the 2010 spring semester.
SECTION 11. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 175 passed the Senate on
March 25, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 30, 2009, by the
following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 175 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 123,
Nays 20, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor