By: Middleton, et al. S.B. No. 1241
(In the Senate - Filed February 12, 2025; February 28, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Education K-16;
April 22, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 1; April 22, 2025,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1241 By: Paxton
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to college entrance examinations considered for admission
to certain public institutions of higher education and a study by
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board regarding those
examinations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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) achieved a score set by the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board on a college entrance examination
designated by coordinating board rule [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
54.241(d) for the term or semester to which admitted.
SECTION 2. 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) achieved a score set by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board on a college entrance examination designated by
coordinating board rule [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].
SECTION 3. Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.8031 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.8031. STUDY ON COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION SCORES.
(a) In this section, "coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(b) The coordinating board, in cooperation with
institutions of higher education, shall conduct a study on college
entrance examinations to determine which examinations to
designate, and the score to set for each examination, under
Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2).
(c) The study must:
(1) identify each college entrance examination with
sufficient rigor and reliability to be designated for purposes of
Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2); and
(2) determine the score for each examination
identified under Subdivision (1) that demonstrates adequate
performance for purposes of Sections 51.803(a)(2)(B) and
51.805(a)(2).
(d) Not later than August 1, 2026, the coordinating board
shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and the chair of each standing
legislative committee with primary jurisdiction over higher
education a report on the results of the study and any
recommendations for legislative or other action.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2027.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
51.803(a) and 51.805(a), Education Code, 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. In designating college entrance examinations and
setting a score for those examinations for purposes of Sections
51.803(a)(2)(B) and 51.805(a)(2), Education Code, as amended by
this Act, for the 2026-2027 academic year, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall designate each college entrance
examination and set the score for the examination that was used
under those provisions as those provisions existed immediately
before the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. 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.
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