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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the automatic admission of students to general academic |
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teaching institutions. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 51.803(a-1), (a-2), and (a-6), |
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Education Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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(a-1) Beginning with admissions for the 2021-2022 |
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[2011-2012] academic year, a general academic teaching institution |
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[The University of Texas at Austin] is not required to offer |
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admission to applicants who qualify for automatic admission under |
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Subsection (a) in excess of the number required to fill 30 [75] |
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percent of the institution's [university's] enrollment capacity |
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designated for first-time resident undergraduate students in an |
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academic year. If the number of applicants who qualify for |
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automatic admission to the institution [The University of Texas at
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Austin] under Subsection (a) for an academic year exceeds 30 [75] |
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percent of the institution's [university's] enrollment capacity |
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designated for first-time resident undergraduate students for that |
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academic year, the institution [university] may elect to offer |
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admission to those applicants as provided by this subsection and |
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not as otherwise required by Subsection (a). If the institution |
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[university] elects to offer admission under this subsection, the |
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institution [university] shall offer admission to those applicants |
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by percentile rank according to high school graduating class |
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standing based on grade point average, beginning with the top |
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percentile rank, until the applicants qualified under Subsection |
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(a) have been offered admission in the number estimated in good |
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faith by the institution [university] as sufficient to fill 30 [75] |
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percent of the institution's [university's] enrollment capacity |
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designated for first-time resident undergraduate students, except |
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that the institution [university] must offer admission to all |
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applicants with the same percentile rank. After the applicants |
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qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a) have been |
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offered admission under this subsection in the number estimated in |
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good faith as sufficient to fill at least 30 [75] percent of the |
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designated enrollment capacity described by this subsection, the |
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institution [university] shall consider any remaining applicants |
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qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a) in the same |
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manner as other applicants for admission as first-time |
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undergraduate students in accordance with Section 51.805. |
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(a-2) If the number of applicants who apply to a general |
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academic teaching institution during the current academic year for |
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admission in the next academic year and who qualify for automatic |
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admission to a general academic teaching institution under |
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Subsection (a) exceeds 30 [75] percent of the institution's |
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enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident |
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undergraduate students for that next academic year and the |
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institution plans to offer admission under Subsection (a-1) during |
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the next school year, the institution shall, in the manner |
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prescribed by the Texas Education Agency and not later than |
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September 15, provide to each school district, for dissemination of |
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the information to high school junior-level students and their |
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parents, notice of which percentile ranks of high school |
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senior-level students who qualify for automatic admission under |
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Subsection (a) are anticipated by the institution to be offered |
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admission under Subsection (a-1) during the next school year. |
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(a-6) Not later than December 31 of each academic year in |
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which a general academic teaching institution [The University of
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Texas at Austin] offers admission under Subsection (a-1), the |
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institution [university] shall deliver a written report to the |
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governor, the lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of |
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representatives regarding the institution's [university's] |
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progress in each of the following matters: |
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(1) increasing geographic diversity of the entering |
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freshman class; |
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(2) counseling and outreach efforts aimed at students |
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qualified for automatic admission under this section; |
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(3) recruiting Texas residents who graduate from other |
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institutions of higher education to the institution's |
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[university's] graduate and professional degree programs; |
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(4) recruiting students who are members of |
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underrepresented demographic segments of the state's population; |
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and |
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(5) assessing and improving the institution's |
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[university's] regional recruitment efforts [centers]. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply |
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beginning with admissions to a general academic teaching |
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institution for the 2021-2022 academic year. Admissions to a |
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general academic teaching institution for an academic period before |
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that academic year are governed by the law in effect immediately |
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before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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* * * * * |