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� H.B.�No.�3826
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AN ACT
� relating to high school curriculum requirements for admission to
� public institutions of higher education and to the admission to
� public institutions of higher education of the children of certain
� public servants killed in the line of duty.
� �������BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
� �������SECTION�1.��Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended to
� read as follows:
� �������Sec.�51.803.��AUTOMATIC ADMISSION: ALL INSTITUTIONS.��(a)
� 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) [. To qualify for admission under this section, an
� applicant must submit an application before the expiration of any
� application filing deadline established by the institution and,] if
� the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United
� States Department of Defense, the applicant is [must be] a Texas
� resident under Section 54.052 or is [be] 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.
� �������(b)��An applicant who does not satisfy the curriculum
� requirements prescribed by Subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) or (ii) is
� considered to have satisfied those requirements if the student
� completed the portion of the recommended or advanced curriculum or
� of the curriculum equivalent in content and rigor, as applicable,
� that was available to the student but was unable to complete the
� remainder of the curriculum solely because courses necessary to
� complete the remainder were unavailable to the student at the
� appropriate times in the student's high school career as a result of
� course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause
� not within the student's control.
� �������(c)��To qualify for admission under this section, an
� applicant must:
� �������������(1)��submit an application before the expiration of any
� application filing deadline established by the institution; and
� �������������(2)��provide a high school transcript or diploma that
� satisfies the requirements of Subsection (d).
� �������(d)��For purposes of Subsection (c)(2), a student's official
� transcript or diploma must, not later than the end of the student's
� junior year, indicate:
� �������������(1)��whether the student has satisfied or is on
� schedule to satisfy the requirements of Subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) or
� (ii), as applicable; or
� �������������(2)��if Subsection (b) applies to the student, whether
� the student has completed the portion of the recommended or
� advanced curriculum or of the curriculum equivalent in content and
� rigor, as applicable, that was available to the student.
� �������(e)��Each institution of higher education shall admit an
� applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate
� student if the applicant:
� �������������(1)��is the child of a public servant listed in Section
� 615.003, Government Code, who was killed or sustained a fatal
� injury in the line of duty; and
� �������������(2)��meets the minimum requirements, if any,
� established for purposes of this subsection by the governing board
� of the institution for high school or prior college-level grade
� point average and performance on standardized tests.
� �������(f)��After admitting an applicant under this section, the
� institution shall review the applicant's record and any other
� factor the institution considers appropriate to determine whether
� the applicant may require additional preparation for college-level
� work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program. The
� institution may require a student so identified to enroll during
� the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this
� section to participate in appropriate enrichment courses and
� orientation programs. This section does not prohibit a student who
� is not determined to need additional preparation for college-level
� work from enrolling, if the student chooses, during the summer
� immediately after the student is admitted under this section.
� �������SECTION�2.��Section 51.804, Education Code, is amended to
� read as follows:
� �������Sec.�51.804.��ADDITIONAL AUTOMATIC ADMISSIONS: SELECTED
� INSTITUTIONS.��For each academic year, the governing board of each
� general academic teaching institution shall determine whether to
� adopt an admissions policy under which an applicant to the
� institution as a first-time freshman student, other than an
� applicant eligible for admission under Section 51.803, shall be
� admitted to the institution if the applicant:
� �������������(1) graduated from a public or private high school in
� this state accredited by a generally recognized accrediting
� organization with a grade point average in the top 25 percent of the
� applicant's high school graduating class; and
� �������������(2)��satisfies the requirements of:
� �������������������(A)��Section 51.803(a)(2)(A) or 51.803(b), as
� applicable to the student, or Section 51.803 (a)(2)(B); and
� �������������������(B)��Sections 51.803(c)(2) and 51.803(d).
� �������SECTION�3.��Sections 51.805(a) and (e), Education Code, are
� 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 satisfies the requirements of:
� �������������(1)��Section 51.803(a)(2)(A) or 51.803(b), as
� applicable to the student, or Section 51.803(a)(2)(B); and
� �������������(2)��Sections 51.803(c)(2) and 51.803(d).
� �������(e)��This section does not apply to an institution that has
� an open enrollment policy, except that a student may apply to a
� general academic teaching institution that has an open enrollment
� policy only if the student satisfies the requirements described by
� Subsection (a).
� �������SECTION�4.��Section 51.807, Education Code, is amended to
� read as follows:
� �������Sec.�51.807.��RULEMAKING. (a) The Texas Higher Education
� Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of
� admissions programs under this subchapter, including rules
� relating to the identification of eligible students [and the
� reporting requirements of Section 51.806].
� �������(b)��The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, after
� consulting with the Texas Education Agency, by rule shall establish
� standards for determining for purposes of this subchapter:
� �������������(1)��whether a private high school is accredited by a
� generally recognized accrediting organization; and
� �������������(2)��whether a person completed a high school
� curriculum that is equivalent in content and rigor to the
� curriculum requirements established under Section 28.025 for the
� recommended or advanced high school program.
� �������SECTION�5.��Section 51.803(e), Education Code, as added by
� this Act, applies beginning with admissions to general academic
� teaching institutions for the 2008-2009 academic year. Admissions
� to a general academic teaching institution before that academic
� year are covered by the law in effect before the effective date of
� this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
� purpose.
� �������SECTION�6.��The commissioner of education shall adopt
� procedures to ensure that, as soon as practicable after this Act
� takes effect, each school district in this state provides written
� notification of the substance of Subchapter U, Chapter 51,
� Education Code, as amended by this Act, to each district student
� who, for the 2007-2008 school year, registers for one or more
� courses required for high school graduation. The commissioner may
� adopt rules under this section in the manner provided by law for
� emergency rules. Each district shall comply with the procedures
� adopted by the commissioner under this section.
� �������SECTION�7.��The changes in law made by this Act apply
� beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching
� institution for the 2008-2009 academic year. Admissions to a
� general academic teaching institution for an academic period before
� that academic year 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�8.��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, 2007.
�
�
� ______________________________ ______________________________
� ���President of the Senate Speaker of the House�����
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�
� �������I certify that H.B. No. 3826 was passed by the House on May 9,
� 2007, by the following vote:��Yeas 140, Nays 1, 1 present, not
� voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
� H.B. No. 3826 on May 26, 2007, and requested the appointment of a
� conference committee to consider the differences between the two
� houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
� on H.B. No. 3826 on May 27, 2007, by the following vote:��Yeas 142,
� Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
�
� ______________________________
� Chief Clerk of the House���
�
� �������I certify that H.B. No. 3826 was passed by the Senate, with
� amendments, on May 23, 2007, by the following vote:��Yeas 30, Nays
� 0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
� committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
� that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
� 3826 on May 27, 2007, by the following vote:��Yeas 30, Nays 0.
�
� ______________________________
� Secretary of the Senate���
� APPROVED: __________________
� ����������������Date�������
� �
� �������� __________________
� ��������������Governor�������
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