| 1 | 1 | | H.B. No. 3993 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 5 | | relating to the automatic admission of students with a |
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| 6 | 6 | | nontraditional secondary education to certain public institutions |
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| 7 | 7 | | of higher education. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (m) to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), each general academic |
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| 13 | 13 | | teaching institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the |
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| 14 | 14 | | institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated |
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| 15 | 15 | | with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's |
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| 16 | 16 | | high school graduating class in one of the two school years |
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| 17 | 17 | | preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for |
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| 18 | 18 | | admission and: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) the applicant: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (A) graduated from a public or private high |
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| 21 | 21 | | school in this state accredited by a generally recognized |
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| 22 | 22 | | accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the |
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| 23 | 23 | | United States Department of Defense; or |
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| 24 | 24 | | (B) completed a nontraditional secondary |
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| 25 | 25 | | education as defined by Section 51.9241; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) the applicant: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (A) successfully completed: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (i) at a public high school, the curriculum |
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| 29 | 29 | | requirements established under Section 28.025 for the |
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| 30 | 30 | | distinguished level of achievement under the foundation high school |
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| 31 | 31 | | program; or |
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| 32 | 32 | | (ii) at a high school to which Section |
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| 33 | 33 | | 28.025 does not apply, a curriculum that is equivalent in content |
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| 34 | 34 | | and rigor to the distinguished level of achievement under the |
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| 35 | 35 | | foundation high school program; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (B) satisfied ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks |
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| 37 | 37 | | on the ACT assessment applicable to the applicant or earned on the |
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| 38 | 38 | | SAT assessment a score of at least 1,500 out of 2,400 or the |
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| 39 | 39 | | equivalent; and |
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| 40 | 40 | | (3) if the applicant graduated from a high school |
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| 41 | 41 | | operated by the United States Department of Defense, the applicant |
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| 42 | 42 | | is a Texas resident under Section 54.052 or is entitled to pay |
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| 43 | 43 | | tuition fees at the rate provided for Texas residents under Section |
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| 44 | 44 | | 54.241(d) for the term or semester to which admitted. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (m) In determining the eligibility for admission under this |
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| 46 | 46 | | section of an applicant with a nontraditional secondary education, |
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| 47 | 47 | | as defined by Section 51.9241, that does not include a high school |
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| 48 | 48 | | graduating class ranking, a general academic teaching institution |
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| 49 | 49 | | shall calculate the applicant's class rank in the manner provided |
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| 50 | 50 | | by Section 51.9241(d). |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply |
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| 52 | 52 | | beginning with admissions to a public institution of higher |
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| 53 | 53 | | education for the 2024 fall semester. Admissions to a public |
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| 54 | 54 | | institution of higher education for a term or semester before the |
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| 55 | 55 | | 2024 fall semester are governed by the law in effect immediately |
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| 56 | 56 | | before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is |
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| 57 | 57 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 59 | 59 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 60 | 60 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 61 | 61 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 62 | 62 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 63 | 63 | | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 64 | 64 | | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 65 | 65 | | I certify that H.B. No. 3993 was passed by the House on April |
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| 66 | 66 | | 26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 106, Nays 40, 1 present, not |
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| 67 | 67 | | voting. |
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| 68 | 68 | | ______________________________ |
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| 69 | 69 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 70 | 70 | | I certify that H.B. No. 3993 was passed by the Senate on May |
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| 71 | 71 | | 16, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11. |
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| 72 | 72 | | ______________________________ |
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| 73 | 73 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 74 | 74 | | APPROVED: _____________________ |
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| 75 | 75 | | Date |
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| 76 | 76 | | _____________________ |
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| 77 | 77 | | Governor |
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