HBA-JLV, MPM H.B. 112 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 112 By: Rangel Higher Education 5/11/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE With an increasing student population in Texas universities, there are now more students taking remedial courses. The cost of remediation to the state has markedly increased over the years. Also, there are many educational stakeholders in the state who are concerned with the minimum standards required for students to graduate. Many high school students who graduate under the minimum high school program are not prepared for the more rigorous curriculum in a higher education environment. House Bill 112 raises the curriculum standards by establishing the recommended high school program as the standard curriculum for Texas high school students. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 112 amends the Education Code to modify the conditions under which a student is authorized to graduate and receive a high school diploma to specify that a student successfully complete the curriculum requirements identified by the State Board of Education for the recommended or advanced high school program, in addition to performing satisfactorily on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments. The student is authorized to graduate and receive a diploma without completing the recommended or advanced high school program if the student, student's parent, a school counselor, and a school administrator agree that the student should not complete the recommended or advanced program, the student successfully completes curriculum requirements for the minimum high school program, and the student has performed satisfactorily on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments. The bill also provides that a student who does not qualify for automatic admission to a general academic teaching institution and who has not taken a recommended or advanced high school program must earn at least 30 hours of credit at a junior college prior to admission to the institution. EFFECTIVE DATE Provisions regarding a student's qualification for admission to any general academic teaching institution take effect August 1, 2006 and apply to the 2006 fall semester. Provisions relating to the conditions under which a student may graduate and receive a diploma take effect August 1, 2002 and apply to students entering the ninth grade in the 2002-2003 school year and thereafter.