The bill amends the Education Code to establish new guidelines for public institutions of higher education regarding the academic fresh start policy for undergraduate admissions. Specifically, it introduces Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to Section 51.931, allowing institutions to disregard academic course credits or grades earned by an applicant more than 10 years prior to the semester they wish to enroll, with the exception of grades from the five years preceding that date. Institutions that choose to disregard these older credits must do so uniformly and cannot award any credit for those courses. Additionally, each institution is required to adopt and publicly post a policy detailing how they will apply this fresh start provision.

Furthermore, the bill modifies Section 61.0595(c) to clarify that semester credit hours earned by a student more than 10 years before starting a new degree program, which are disregarded under the institution's policy, will not count towards determining whether the student has previously earned the required number of credit hours. The changes will take effect for admissions starting in the fall semester of 2025 and for funding recommendations related to these credit hours in the subsequent fiscal biennium. If the bill does not receive the necessary votes for immediate effect, it will take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Education Code 51.931, Education Code 61.0595 (Education Code 61, Education Code 51)
House Committee Report: Education Code 51.931, Education Code 61.0595 (Education Code 61, Education Code 51)