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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to limitations on the automatic admission of undergraduate |
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students to general academic teaching institutions. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a) Subject to Subsection (c), each [Each] general academic |
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teaching institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the |
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institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated |
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with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's |
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high school graduating class in one of the two school years |
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preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for |
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admission and the applicant graduated from a public or private high |
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school in this state accredited by a generally recognized |
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accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the |
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United States Department of Defense. To qualify for admission |
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under this section, an applicant must submit an application before |
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the expiration of any application filing deadline established by |
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the institution and, if the applicant graduated from a high school |
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operated by the United States Department of Defense, must be a Texas |
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resident under Section 54.052 or be entitled to pay tuition fees at |
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the rate provided for Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for |
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the term or semester to which admitted. |
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(c) For each academic year, a general academic teaching |
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institution shall reserve for admissions under Subsection (a) not |
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less than 40 percent of the institution's enrollment capacity |
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designated for first-time resident undergraduate students. If a |
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general academic teaching institution does not reserve a percentage |
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of the institution's enrollment capacity for admissions under |
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Subsection (a), the institution is considered to have reserved 100 |
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percent of its enrollment capacity designated for first-time |
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resident undergraduate students for that purpose. Subsection (a) |
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does not apply to the portion of the institution's enrollment |
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capacity designated for first-time undergraduate students that is |
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not reserved under this subsection for admissions under Subsection |
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(a). If the number of applicants who qualify for automatic |
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admission to a general academic teaching institution under |
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Subsection (a) exceeds the number of spaces reserved by the |
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institution for admissions under Subsection (a), the institution |
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shall offer admission to those applicants by percentile rank |
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according to graduating class standing based on grade point |
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average, beginning with the top percentile rank, until a sufficient |
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number of applicants have accepted admission offers to fill those |
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spaces, except that the institution must offer admission to all |
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applicants with the same percentile rank. The institution shall |
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consider any remaining applicants qualified for automatic |
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admission under Subsection (a) in the same manner as other |
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applicants for admission as first-time undergraduate students in |
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accordance with Section 51.805. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies |
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beginning with admissions to institutions of higher education for |
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the 2008-2009 academic year. Admissions to an institution of |
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higher education before that academic year are governed by the law |
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in effect before the effective date of this Act, and the former law |
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is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating |
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Board shall adopt rules relating to the admission of students under |
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Section 51.803, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as |
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practicable after the effective date of this Act. |
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(b) A general academic teaching institution shall reserve |
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for admissions under Section 51.803(a), Education Code, as amended |
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by this Act, a percentage of the institution's enrollment capacity |
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designated for first-time resident undergraduate students for the |
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2008 |
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fall semester as required by Section 51.803(c), Education |
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Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1, 2008. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |