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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 students to  | 
      
      
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        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.  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 2017-2018  | 
      
      
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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 50 [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 50 [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 50 [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 50 [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 50 [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 centers. | 
      
      
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               SECTION 2.  Sections 51.803(a-3) and (a-4), Education Code,  | 
      
      
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        are repealed. | 
      
      
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               SECTION 3.  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 2017-2018 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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2016. |