S.B. No. 175
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the automatic admission of undergraduate students to
  certain general academic teaching institutions and to scholarship
  and other programs to facilitate enrollment at institutions of
  higher education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3),
  (a-4), (a-5), (a-6), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  Subject to Subsection (a-1), each [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)  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
  54.058(d) for the term or semester to which admitted.
         (a-1)  Beginning with admissions for the 2011-2012 academic
  year, The University of Texas at Austin is not required to offer
  admission to applicants who qualify for automatic admission under
  Subsection (a) in excess of the number required to fill 75 percent
  of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
  resident undergraduate students in an academic year. If the number
  of applicants who qualify for automatic admission to The University
  of Texas at Austin under Subsection (a) for an academic year exceeds
  75 percent of the university's enrollment capacity designated for
  first-time resident undergraduate students for that academic year,
  the university may elect to offer admission to those applicants as
  provided by this subsection and not as otherwise required by
  Subsection (a). If the university elects to offer admission under
  this subsection, the university shall offer admission to those
  applicants by percentile rank according to high school graduating
  class standing based on grade point average, beginning with the top
  percentile rank, until the applicants qualified under Subsection
  (a) have been offered admission in the number estimated in good
  faith by the university as sufficient to fill 75 percent of the
  university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
  resident undergraduate students, except that the university must
  offer admission to all applicants with the same percentile rank.
  After the applicants qualified for automatic admission under
  Subsection (a) have been offered admission under this subsection in
  the number estimated in good faith as sufficient to fill 75 percent
  of the designated enrollment capacity described by this subsection,
  the university shall consider any remaining applicants qualified
  for automatic admission under Subsection (a) in the same manner as
  other applicants for admission as first-time undergraduate
  students in accordance with Section 51.805.
         (a-2)  If the number of applicants who apply to a general
  academic teaching institution during the current academic year for
  admission in the next academic year and who qualify for automatic
  admission to a general academic teaching institution under
  Subsection (a) exceeds 75 percent of the institution's enrollment
  capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students
  for that next academic year and the institution plans to offer
  admission under Subsection (a-1) during the next school year, the
  institution shall, in the manner prescribed by the Texas Education
  Agency and not later than September 15, provide to each school
  district, for dissemination of the information to high school
  junior-level students and their parents, notice of which percentile
  ranks of high school senior-level students who qualify for
  automatic admission under Subsection (a) are anticipated by the
  institution to be offered admission under Subsection (a-1) during
  the next school year.
         (a-3)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a-1), The University of
  Texas at Austin may not offer admission under that subsection for an
  academic year after the 2015-2016 academic year.
         (a-4)  If The University of Texas at Austin elects to offer
  admission to first-time resident undergraduate students under
  Subsection (a-1) for an academic year, the university must continue
  its practice of not considering an applicant's legacy status as a
  factor in the university's decisions relating to admissions for
  that academic year.
         (a-5)  A general academic teaching institution that offers
  admission to first-time resident undergraduate students under
  Subsection (a-1) shall require that a student admitted under that
  subsection complete a designated portion of not less than six
  semester credit hours of the student's coursework during evening
  hours or other low-demand hours as necessary to ensure the
  efficient use of the institution's available classrooms.
         (a-6)  Not later than December 31 of each academic year in
  which The University of Texas at Austin offers admission under
  Subsection (a-1), the university shall deliver a written report to
  the governor, the lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
  representatives regarding the university's progress in each of the
  following matters:
               (1)  increasing geographic diversity of the entering
  freshman class;
               (2)  counseling and outreach efforts aimed at students
  qualified for automatic admission under this section;
               (3)  recruiting Texas residents who graduate from other
  institutions of higher education to the university's graduate and
  professional degree programs;
               (4)  recruiting students who are members of
  underrepresented demographic segments of the state's population;
  and
               (5)  assessing and improving the university's regional
  recruitment centers.
         (g)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by rule
  shall develop and implement a program to increase and enhance the
  efforts of general academic teaching institutions in conducting
  outreach to academically high-performing high school seniors in
  this state who are likely to be eligible for automatic admission
  under Subsection (a) to provide to those students information and
  counseling regarding the operation of this section and other
  opportunities, including financial assistance, available to those
  students for success at public institutions of higher education in
  this state. Under the program, the coordinating board, after
  gathering information and recommendations from available sources
  and examining current outreach practices by institutions in this
  state and in other states, shall prescribe best practices
  guidelines and standards to be used by general academic teaching
  institutions in conducting the student outreach described by this
  subsection.
         (h)  An institution that admits under this section an
  applicant qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a)
  may admit the applicant for either the fall semester of the academic
  year for which the applicant applies or for the summer session
  preceding that fall semester, as determined by the institution.
         (i)  If a general academic teaching institution denies
  admission to an applicant for an academic year, in any letter or
  other communication the institution provides to the applicant
  notifying the applicant of that denial, the institution may not
  reference the provisions of this section, including using a
  description of a provision of this section such as the top 10
  percent automatic admissions law, as a reason the institution is
  unable to offer admission to the applicant unless the number of
  applicants for admission to the institution for that academic year
  who qualify for automatic admission under Subsection (a) is
  sufficient to fill 100 percent of the institution's enrollment
  capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate
  students.
         (j)  A general academic teaching institution that elects to
  offer admission under Subsection (a-1) for an academic year may not
  offer admission to first-time undergraduate students who are not
  residents of this state for that academic year in excess of the
  number required to fill 10 percent of the institution's enrollment
  capacity designated for first-time undergraduate students for that
  academic year.
         (k)  A general academic teaching institution may not offer
  admission under Subsection (a-1) for an academic year if, on the
  date of the institution's general deadline for applications for
  admission of first-time undergraduate students for that academic
  year:
               (1)  a final court order applicable to the institution
  prohibits the institution from considering an applicant's race or
  ethnicity as a factor in the institution's decisions relating to
  first-time undergraduate admissions; or
               (2)  the institution's governing board by rule, policy,
  or other manner has provided that an applicant's race or ethnicity
  may not be considered as a factor in the institution's decisions
  relating to first-time undergraduate admissions, except that this
  subdivision does not apply to an institution that did not consider,
  on or before June 1, 2009, an applicant's race or ethnicity as a
  factor in its admissions of first-time resident undergraduate
  students for the 2009-2010 academic year.
         (l)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  publish an annual report on the impact of Subsection (a-1) on the
  state's goal of closing college access and achievement gaps under
  "Closing the Gaps," the state's master plan for higher education,
  with respect to students of an institution that offers admission
  under that subsection, disaggregated by race, ethnicity,
  socioeconomic status, and geographic region and by whether the high
  school from which the student graduated was a small school, as
  defined by the commissioner of education, or a public high school
  that is ranked among the lowest 20 percent of public high schools
  according to the percentage of each high school's graduates who
  enroll in a four-year institution, including a general academic
  teaching institution, in one of the two academic years following
  the year of the applicant's high school graduation. On request, a
  general academic teaching institution that offers admission under
  Subsection (a-1) shall provide the board with any information the
  board considers necessary for the completion of the report required
  by this subsection.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 51.8035 to read as follows:
         Sec. 51.8035.  AUTOMATIC ADMISSION OF APPLICANTS COMPLETING
  CORE CURRICULUM AT ANOTHER INSTITUTION. (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Core curriculum" means the core curriculum
  adopted by an institution of higher education under Section 61.822.
               (2)  "General academic teaching institution" has the
  meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
         (b)  A general academic teaching institution shall admit an
  applicant for admission to the institution as a transfer
  undergraduate student who:
               (1)  graduated from high school not earlier than the
  fourth school year before the academic year for which the applicant
  seeks admission to the institution as a transfer student and:
                     (A)  qualified for automatic admission to a
  general academic teaching institution under Section 51.803 at the
  time of graduation; or
                     (B)  was previously offered admission under this
  subchapter to the institution to which the applicant seeks
  admission as a transfer student;
               (2)  first enrolled in a public junior college or other
  public or private lower-division institution of higher education
  not earlier than the third academic year before the academic year
  for which the applicant seeks admission;
               (3)  completed the core curriculum at a public junior
  college or other public or private lower-division institution of
  higher education with a cumulative grade point average of at least
  2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent; and
               (4)  submits a completed application for admission as a
  transfer student before the expiration of any application filing
  deadline established by the institution.
         (c)  For purposes of this section, transfer semester credit
  hours from a different institution of higher education and semester
  credit hours earned by examination shall be included in determining
  whether the person completed the core curriculum at an institution
  of higher education.
         (d)  It is the responsibility of the applicant for admission
  under this section to:
               (1)  expressly and clearly claim in the application
  entitlement to admission under this section; and
               (2)  timely provide to the general academic teaching
  institution the documentation required by the institution to
  determine the student's entitlement to admission under this
  section.
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.026, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 28.026.  NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC COLLEGE ADMISSION.
  (a)  The board of trustees of a school district shall require each
  high school in the district to post appropriate signs in each
  counselor's office, in each principal's office, and in each
  administrative building indicating the substance of Section 51.803
  regarding automatic college admission. To assist in the
  dissemination of this information, the school district shall:
               (1)  require that each high school counselor and class
  advisor be provided a detailed explanation of the substance of
  Section 51.803;
               (2)  provide each district student, at the time the
  student first registers for one or more classes required for high
  school graduation, with a written notification of the substance of
  Section 51.803;
               (3)  require that each high school counselor and senior
  class advisor explain to eligible students the substance of Section
  51.803; and
               (4)  not later than the 14th day after the last day of
  classes for the fall semester or an equivalent date in the case of a
  school operated on a year-round system under Section
  25.084, [(3)] provide each eligible senior student under Section
  51.803 and each student enrolled in the junior year of high school
  who has a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's
  high school class, and the student's parent or guardian [at the
  commencement of a class's senior year], with a written notification
  of the student's eligibility with a detailed explanation in plain
  language of the substance of Section 51.803.
         (b)  The commissioner shall adopt forms to use in providing
  notice under Subsections (a)(2) and (4). In providing notice under
  Subsection (a)(2) or (4), a school district shall use the
  appropriate form adopted by the commissioner. The notice to a
  student and the student's parent or guardian under Subsection
  (a)(4) must be on a single form that may contain one or more
  signature lines to indicate receipt of notice by the student or the
  student's parent or guardian.
         (c)  The commissioner shall adopt procedures to ensure that,
  as soon as practicable after this subsection becomes law, each
  school district provides written notification of the substance of
  Section 51.803, as amended by the 81st Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2009, to each district student who, for the 2009-2010
  school year, registers for one or more courses required for high
  school graduation. The commissioner may adopt rules under this
  subsection in the manner provided by law for emergency rules. Each
  district shall comply with the procedures adopted by the
  commissioner under this subsection. This subsection expires
  September 1, 2010.
         SECTION 4.  Section 33.007, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  At the beginning of grades 10 and 11, a school counselor
  certified under the rules of the State Board for Educator
  Certification shall explain the requirements of automatic
  admission to a general academic teaching institution under Section
  51.803 to each student enrolled in a high school or at the high
  school level in an open-enrollment charter school who has a grade
  point average in the top 25 percent of the student's high school
  class.
         SECTION 5.  Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter R to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER R. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING
  IN TOP 10 PERCENT OF HIGH SCHOOL CLASS
         Sec. 56.481.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this program is to
  encourage attendance at public institutions of higher education in
  this state by outstanding high school students in the top 10 percent
  of their graduating class.
         Sec. 56.482.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (2)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 61.003.
               (3)  "Program" means the scholarship program
  authorized by this subchapter.
         Sec. 56.483.  AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP. (a)  The coordinating
  board shall award scholarships to eligible students under this
  subchapter.
         (b)  An institution of higher education shall provide to a
  student who receives a scholarship under the program for a semester
  or other academic term:
               (1)  a credit in the amount of the scholarship, to be
  applied toward the payment of any amount of educational costs
  charged by the institution for that semester or term; and
               (2)  a check, electronic transfer, or other
  disbursement of any remaining scholarship amount.
         (c)  An amount paid under Subsection (b)(2) may be applied
  only to any usual and customary cost incurred by the student to
  attend the institution of higher education.
         Sec. 56.484.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. To be
  eligible for a scholarship under this subchapter, a student must:
               (1)  have graduated from a public or accredited private
  high school in this state while ranked in the top 10 percent of the
  student's graduating class, subject to Section 56.487(b);
               (2)  have completed the recommended or advanced high
  school curriculum established under Section 28.025 or its
  equivalent;
               (3)  have applied for admission as a first-time
  freshman student for the 2010-2011 academic year or a subsequent
  academic year to an institution of higher education that has
  elected to offer admissions for that academic year to applicants as
  provided by Section 51.803(a-1);
               (4)  enroll as a first-time freshman student in an
  institution of higher education not later than the 16th month after
  the date of the student's high school graduation;
               (5)  have been awarded a TEXAS grant under Subchapter M
  for the same semester or other academic term for which the
  scholarship will be awarded;
               (6)  be a Texas resident under Section 54.052; and
               (7)  comply with any other eligibility requirements
  established by coordinating board rule.
         Sec. 56.485.  INELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP.
  Notwithstanding Section 56.484, a student is not eligible for an
  initial or subsequent scholarship under this subchapter if the
  student was offered admission as a first-time freshman student to
  any institution of higher education for an academic year for which
  that institution made admissions under Section 51.803(a-1),
  regardless of whether the student subsequently enrolls at that
  institution.
         Sec. 56.486.  AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP. (a)  Except as
  provided by Subsection (b), the amount of a scholarship for each
  semester or other academic term in which an eligible student is
  enrolled at an institution of higher education is an amount
  sufficient to cover, but not exceed, the amount of tuition charged
  to the student for that semester or term.
         (b)  The amount of a scholarship for each semester or other
  academic term may not exceed the amount of the student's unmet
  financial need for that semester or term after any other gift aid
  has been awarded.
         (c)  The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
  student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
  awarded to the student.
         Sec. 56.487.  APPLICATION PROCEDURE. (a)  The coordinating
  board shall establish application procedures for the program. The
  procedures may require an officer of the applicable high school or
  school district to verify the eligibility of a student to receive a
  scholarship under the program.
         (b)  The coordinating board may permit a student to establish
  initial eligibility based on the student's class rank at the end of
  the student's seventh semester in high school. The board may revoke
  an initial scholarship awarded to a student who subsequently loses
  eligibility based on the student's class rank on graduation from
  high school.
         (c)  The coordinating board may consider applications
  received after the application deadline only if sufficient funding
  for scholarships remains after the board awards scholarships to all
  eligible students who applied on or before the deadline.
         (d)  The coordinating board shall establish procedures to
  notify each eligible student of the receipt of a scholarship under
  the program and to enable an institution of higher education to
  verify the award of a scholarship to a student who is enrolled at
  that institution.
         Sec. 56.488.  CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP.
  (a)  After establishing eligibility to receive an initial
  scholarship under the program, a student may continue to receive
  additional scholarships during each subsequent semester or other
  academic term in which the student is enrolled at an institution of
  higher education if the student:
               (1)  makes satisfactory academic progress as required
  by Section 56.489;
               (2)  submits to the institution transcripts for any
  coursework completed at other public or private institutions of
  higher education;
               (3)  has been awarded a TEXAS grant under Subchapter M
  for the same semester or other academic term for which the
  scholarship will be awarded; and
               (4)  complies with any other eligibility requirements
  established by coordinating board rule.
         (b)  If a student fails to meet any of the requirements of
  Subsection (a) after completing a semester or other academic term,
  the student may not receive a scholarship during the next semester
  or other academic term in which the student enrolls. A student may
  become eligible to receive a scholarship in a subsequent semester
  or term if the student:
               (1)  completes a semester or term during which the
  student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
               (2)  meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
         (c)  Except as provided by Section 56.490(b), a student's
  eligibility for a scholarship under the program ends on the fourth
  anniversary of the first day of the semester or other academic term
  for which the student was awarded an initial scholarship under the
  program.
         Sec. 56.489.  SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS. For each
  academic year in which a student receives one or more scholarships
  under the program, the student must:
               (1)  complete for that year:
                     (A)  at least 75 percent of all credit hours
  attempted, as determined by the institution of higher education in
  which the student is enrolled; and
                     (B)  at least 30 credit hours or the number of
  credit hours needed to complete the student's degree or certificate
  program, whichever is less; and
               (2)  maintain an overall grade point average of at
  least 3.25 on a four-point scale or its equivalent for all
  coursework attempted at any public or private institution of higher
  education.
         Sec. 56.490.  EXCEPTION FOR HARDSHIP OR OTHER GOOD CAUSE.
  (a)  Each institution of higher education shall adopt a policy to
  allow a student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress as
  required by Section 56.489 to receive a scholarship in a subsequent
  semester or other academic term on a showing of hardship or other
  good cause, including:
               (1)  a showing of a severe illness or other
  debilitating condition that could affect the student's academic
  performance;
               (2)  an indication that the student is responsible for
  the care of a sick, injured, or needy person and that the student's
  provision of care could affect the student's academic performance;
  or
               (3)  any other cause considered acceptable by the
  coordinating board.
         (b)  An institution of higher education may extend the
  eligibility period described by Section 56.488(c) in the event of
  hardship or other good cause as provided by the institution's
  policy adopted under Subsection (a).
         (c)  An institution of higher education shall maintain
  documentation of each exception granted to a student under this
  section and shall provide timely notice of those exceptions to the
  coordinating board.
         Sec. 56.491.  PUBLICATION OF PROGRAM INFORMATION. (a)  The
  coordinating board shall publish and disseminate general
  information and rules for the program as provided by Subsection (b)
  and as otherwise considered appropriate by the board.
         (b)  The coordinating board shall provide application
  instructions to:
               (1)  each school district and each institution of
  higher education; and
               (2)  an individual student on request.
         Sec. 56.492.  REIMBURSEMENT. (a)  Each institution of
  higher education that provides scholarships under the program to
  eligible students enrolled at the institution is entitled to
  reimbursement by the coordinating board of the amounts provided.
  The institution must request reimbursement in the manner specified
  by coordinating board rule.
         (b)  On approval of an institution's request for
  reimbursement, the coordinating board shall direct the comptroller
  to transfer the appropriate amount to the institution. The
  institution may use the transferred funds as reimbursement for any
  credits provided to students under this subchapter, to reimburse
  students for charges previously paid to the institution, or to make
  scholarship payments to students, as applicable.
         Sec. 56.493.  RULES. The coordinating board shall adopt
  rules as necessary to administer the program under this subchapter.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 61.07622 to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.07622.  HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PLAN. (a)  The
  board shall develop a plan under which each public high school in
  this state that is, as determined by the board in accordance with
  board rule, substantially below the state average in the number of
  graduates who attend public or private or independent institutions
  of higher education is required to:
               (1)  provide to prospective students information
  related to enrollment in public or private or independent
  institutions of higher education, including admissions and
  financial aid information; and
               (2)  assist those prospective students in completing
  applications related to enrollment in those institutions,
  including admissions and financial aid applications.
         SECTION 7.  The purpose of the reforms provided for in this
  Act is to continue and facilitate progress in general academic
  teaching institutions in this state with regard to the racial,
  ethnic, demographic, geographic, and rural/urban diversity of the
  student bodies of those institutions in undergraduate, graduate,
  and professional education, including the participation goals
  identified in the "Closing the Gaps" initiative, the state's master
  plan for higher education. Nothing in this Act prevents a general
  academic teaching institution in this state from engaging in
  appropriate individualized holistic review, consistent with that
  purpose, for the admission of students who are not entitled to
  automatic admission under Section 51.803, Education Code, as
  amended by this Act.
         SECTION 8.  The commissioner of education shall adopt a form
  for notifying eligible high school seniors and their parents or
  guardians of automatic college admission as required by Section
  28.026, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as
  practicable after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
  Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter R, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
  the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
  board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
  emergency rules.
         (b)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
  begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter R, Chapter 56,
  Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
  for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
  coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
  for an academic year before the 2010-2011 academic year.
         SECTION 10.  Section 51.8035, Education Code, as added by
  this Act, applies beginning with admissions to a general academic
  teaching institution for the 2010 spring semester.
         SECTION 11.  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, 2009.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 175 passed the Senate on
  March 25, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 30, 2009, by the
  following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 175 passed the House, with
  amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 123,
  Nays 20, two present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor