S.B. No. 1231
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to dropping courses and student withdrawals at
  institutions of higher education, including the refunding of
  tuition and mandatory fees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 51.907 to read as follows:
         Sec. 51.907.  LIMITATIONS ON NUMBER OF COURSES THAT MAY BE
  DROPPED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. (a)  In this section,
  "governing board" and "institution of higher education" have the
  meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
         (b)  This section applies only to an undergraduate student
  who drops a course at an institution of higher education and only
  if:
               (1)  the student was able to drop the course without
  receiving a grade or incurring an academic penalty;
               (2)  the student's transcript indicates or will
  indicate that the student was enrolled in the course; and
               (3)  the student is not dropping the course in order to
  withdraw from the institution.
         (c)  Except as provided under rules adopted under Subsection
  (d), an institution of higher education may not permit a student to
  drop more than six courses, including any course a transfer student
  has dropped at another institution of higher education, under
  circumstances described by Subsection (b).
         (d)  The governing board of an institution of higher
  education may adopt a policy under which the maximum number of
  courses a student is permitted to drop under circumstances
  described by Subsection (b) is less than the maximum number of
  courses that a student may drop under Subsection (c).
         (e)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  adopt rules under which an institution of higher education shall
  permit a student to drop more courses under circumstances described
  by Subsection (b) than the number of courses permitted to be dropped
  under Subsection (c) or under a policy adopted under Subsection (d)
  if the student shows good cause for dropping more than that number,
  including a showing of:
               (1)  a severe illness or other debilitating condition
  that affects the student's ability to satisfactorily complete a
  course;
               (2)  the student's responsibility for the care of a
  sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of care affects the
  student's ability to satisfactorily complete a course;
               (3)  the death of a person who:
                     (A)  is considered to be a member of the student's
  family under a rule adopted under this subsection for purposes of
  this subdivision; or
                     (B)  is otherwise considered to have a
  sufficiently close relationship to the student under a rule adopted
  under this subsection that the person's death is considered to be a
  showing of good cause; or
               (4)  the active duty service as a member of the Texas
  National Guard or the armed forces of the United States of:
                     (A)  the student; or
                     (B)  a person who is considered to be a member of
  the student's family under a rule adopted under this subsection for
  purposes of this subdivision.
         (f)  In determining the number of courses dropped by a
  student for purposes of this section, a course, such as a laboratory
  or discussion course, in which a student is enrolled concurrently
  with a lecture course is not considered to be a course separate from
  the lecture course if:
               (1)  concurrent enrollment in both courses is required;
  and
               (2)  in dropping the lecture course, the student would
  be required to drop the laboratory, discussion, or other course in
  which the student is concurrently enrolled.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 54.006, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 54.006.  REFUND OR ADJUSTMENT OF TUITION AND MANDATORY
  FEES FOR DROPPED COURSES AND STUDENT WITHDRAWALS.
         SECTION 3.  Section 54.006, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections
  (a-1), (b-1), and (b-2) to read as follows:
         (a)  A general academic teaching institution or medical and
  dental unit, as soon as practicable, shall refund the amount of
  [fees and] tuition and mandatory fees [in excess of the minimum
  tuition] collected for courses from which students drop within the
  first 12 days of a fall or spring semester or a summer term of 10
  weeks or longer, within the first four days of a [summer] term or
  session of more than five weeks but less than 10 weeks, or within
  the period specified by the institution for that purpose for a term
  or session of five weeks or less that is substantially proportional
  to the period specified by this subsection for a longer term or
  session. The institution or medical and dental unit may not delay a
  refund under this subsection on the grounds that the student may
  withdraw from the institution or unit later in the semester or term.
         (a-1) An institution may assess a nonrefundable $15
  matriculation fee if the student withdraws from the institution
  before the first day of classes.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsections (b-1) and (b-2), a [A]
  general academic teaching institution or medical and dental unit
  shall refund from the amount paid by [to] a student withdrawing from
  the institution or unit an amount equal to the product of the amount
  of tuition and mandatory fees charged [collected] for each course
  in which the student is enrolled on the date the student withdraws
  multiplied by the applicable percentage derived from the following
  tables:
               (1)  if the student withdraws during a fall or spring
  semester or a summer term of 10 weeks or longer [or comparable
  trimester]:
                     (A)  prior to the first class day100 percent
                     (B)  during the first five class days80 percent
                     (C)  during the second five class days70 percent
                     (D)  during the third five class days50 percent
                     (E)  during the fourth five class days25 percent
                     (F)  after the fourth five class daysNone; [and]
               (2)  if the student withdraws during a [summer] term or
  session of more than five weeks but less than 10 weeks:
                     (A)  prior to the first class day100 percent
                     (B)  during the first, second, or third class
  day 80 percent
                     (C)  during the fourth, fifth, or sixth class
  day 50 percent
                     (D)  seventh day of class and thereafterNone; and
               (3)  if the student withdraws from a term or session of
  five weeks or less:
                     (A)  prior to the first class day100 percent
                     (B)  during the first class day80 percent
                     (C)  during the second class day50 percent
                     (D)  during the third class day
  and thereafterNone.
         (b-1)  If a student has not paid the total amount of the
  tuition and mandatory fees charged to the student by the
  institution or unit for the courses in which the student is enrolled
  by the date the student withdraws from the institution or unit,
  instead of issuing the student a refund in the amount required under
  Subsection (b), the institution or unit may credit the amount to be
  refunded toward the payment of the outstanding tuition and
  mandatory fees owed by the student.  The institution or unit shall
  issue a refund to the student if any portion of the amount to be
  refunded remains after the outstanding tuition and mandatory fees
  have been paid.
         (b-2)  A general academic teaching institution or medical
  and dental unit may provide to a student withdrawing from the
  institution or unit a refund of a portion of the tuition and
  mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution or unit for
  the courses in which the student is enrolled on the date the student
  withdraws in an amount greater than the amount required by
  Subsection (b). The institution or unit may apply the portion of
  the refund authorized by this subsection toward the payment of any
  outstanding tuition and fees as provided by Subsection (b-1), and
  may refund the remainder of that portion in the form of, as the
  institution or unit considers appropriate:
               (1)  a payment made directly to the student; or
               (2)  credit toward payment of tuition and mandatory
  fees for a subsequent semester or other academic term at the
  institution or unit.
         (c)  Separate withdrawal refund schedules may be established
  for optional fees [such as intercollegiate athletics, cultural
  entertainment, parking, and yearbooks].
         (e)  A general academic teaching institution or medical and
  dental unit may [shall] terminate a student's student services and
  privileges, including [such as] health services, library
  privileges, facilities and technology usage, and athletic and
  cultural entertainment tickets, when the [a] student withdraws from
  the institution.
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (g), Section 54.006, Education Code,
  is repealed.
         SECTION 5.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall adopt the rules required by Subsection (e), Section 51.907,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, relating to permitting a
  student who shows good cause to drop more than a specified number of
  courses, as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect. For
  that purpose, the coordinating board may adopt the initial rules in
  the manner provided by law for emergency rules.
         SECTION 6.  Section 51.907, Education Code, as added by this
  Act, applies only to the number of courses that may be dropped by a
  student who beginning with the 2007 fall semester enrolls in a
  public institution of higher education as a first-time freshman.
         SECTION 7.  The change in law made by this Act applies to
  tuition and mandatory fees charged beginning with the fall 2007
  semester.
         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     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1231 passed the Senate on
  April 19, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 25, 2007, by the
  following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1231 passed the House, with
  amendments, on May 23, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 144,
  Nays 0, two present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor