By: Leo Wilson H.B. No. 4701
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to student discretion to use an alternative assessment
instrument as part of their undergraduate admissions process.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.0261(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) In addition to the assessment instruments otherwise
authorized or required by this subchapter:
(1) each school year and at state cost, a school
district may administer to students in the spring of the eighth
grade an established, valid, reliable, and nationally
norm-referenced preliminary college preparation assessment
instrument for the purpose of diagnosing the academic strengths and
deficiencies of students before entrance into high school;
(2) each school year and at state cost, a school
district may administer to students in the 10th grade an
established, valid, reliable, and nationally norm-referenced
preliminary college preparation assessment instrument for the
purpose of measuring a student's progress toward readiness for
college and the workplace; and
(3) high school students in the spring of the 11th
grade or during the 12th grade may select and take once, at state
cost:
(A) one of the valid, reliable, and nationally
norm-referenced assessment instruments used by colleges and
universities as part of their undergraduate admissions processes,
including the SAT, the ACT, or the Classic Learning Test (CLT); or
(B) the assessment instrument designated by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section 51.334.
SECTION 2. 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) either:
(i) satisfied ACT's College Readiness
Benchmarks on the ACT assessment applicable to the applicant; or
(ii) earned:
(a) on the SAT assessment a score of
at least 1,500 out of 2,400 or the equivalent;
(b) on the Classic Learning Test
assessment a score of at least 71 out of 120 or the equivalent; or
(iii) on a college entrance examination
designated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and to
which Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) do not apply, achieved a score set
by coordinating board rule; 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 3. 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) either:
(A) satisfied ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks
on the ACT assessment applicable to the applicant; or
(B) earned:
(i) on the SAT assessment a score of at
least 1,500 out of 2,400 or the equivalent;
(ii) on the Classic Learning Test
assessment a score of at least 71 out of 120 or the equivalent; or
(C) on a college entrance examination designated
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and to which
Paragraphs (A) and (B) do not apply, achieved a score set by
coordinating board rule.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act 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. 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.