HB3041

Regular Session

Relating to measures to support the enrollment of students with a nontraditional secondary education at public institutions of higher education, including eligibility for certain student financial assistance programs.

CriticalImmediate action required

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Public Institutions of Higher Education (Admissions Offices) • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) • University of Texas at Austin (Specific statutory mandates)

HB3041

Relating to measures to support the enrollment of students with a nontraditional secondary education at public institutions of higher education, inclu...

Critical Urgency

Passed with Opposition

House Vote139 - 0

YEA

100% in favor139 voting

Senate Vote30 - 1

YEA

97% in favor31 voting

Total Opposition Votes

Cost Impact

Low

Effective

2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Public Institutions of Higher Ed...THECBUniversity of Texas at Austin

Primary Author: Rep. Dennis Paul

89th Texas Legislature

jdkey.com

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 20, 2025
Compliance Deadline: Fall 2025 for Dual Credit access (Sec. 51.9675); Fall 2026 for Undergraduate Admissions ranking and Financial Aid eligibility.
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) must update TEXAS Grant rules prior to the Fall 2026 award cycle. UT Austin must determine and publish specific testing benchmarks by September 15, 2025.

Immediate Action Plan

Immediately: Direct IT/Data teams to calculate median SAT/ACT scores for every class rank percentile based on the most recent admissions cycle.
By June 2025: Revise Dual Credit intake policies to explicitly state that accreditation status is no longer a condition for enrollment.
By September 2025: Post the calculated median test scores on the institution's admissions website to satisfy transparency mandates.
By January 2026: Finalize and test the automated ranking logic in your SIS for the Fall 2026 application cycle.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Dual Credit MOUs: Review existing Memorandums of Understanding with school districts. You must remove any exclusivity clauses or language that imposes stricter accreditation or transcript requirements on homeschool students than those applied to public school students.
SIS Vendor Agreements: Initiate change orders with Student Information System vendors (e.g., Oracle, Ellucian) immediately. Standard "out-of-the-box" admissions modules likely do not support the specific "median score per percentile" calculation required by this statute.

Hiring/Training

Admissions Staff: Train evaluators on the new statutory formula: a nontraditional student’s rank is the highest percentile where their SAT/ACT score equals or exceeds the institution's median for that rank.
Financial Aid Officers: Update training manuals to recognize "assigned" class ranks as valid for TEXAS Grant and Top 10% Scholarship eligibility.
IT/Data Analysts: Staff must be allocated to calculate median test scores for *every* class rank percentile from the preceding year's data.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Public Website Disclosure: You are legally required to post the median college entrance exam scores calculated for each class rank from the preceding admissions cycle on your institution's website.
Audit Trails: Admissions files for nontraditional applicants must retain the specific calculation used to derive their assigned rank to defend against potential discrimination claims or audits.

Fees & Costs

IT Configuration Costs: While there are no new state fees, institutions will incur internal costs to reconfigure admissions software algorithms.
Financial Aid Allocation: Anticipate a shift in TEXAS Grant distribution; funds previously exclusive to ranked public school graduates will now be accessible to qualifying homeschoolers.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Evidence of Successful Completion": The statute requires applicants to present evidence of completing a nontraditional education but does not define valid documentation (e.g., parent-issued transcripts vs. third-party validation). Watch THECB rulemaking closely for fraud-prevention standards.
UT Austin Benchmarking: The requirement for UT Austin to set benchmarks ensuring "proportional representation" is statistically complex. The methodology for this is not defined in the statute, creating a regulatory gray zone until the university publishes its first set of criteria in September 2025.

Need Help Understanding Implementation?

Our government affairs experts can walk you through this bill's specific impact on your operations.

Schedule Consultation

Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.

Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsEducation Education--higher Education--higher--admission & Attendance Education--higher--student Financial Aid Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Education--higher--assessment & Testing

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

House Authors

Rep. Dennis PaulRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Terri Leo-Wilson (R)

Coauthors (1)

Penny Morales Shaw (D)

Senate Sponsors

Sen. Mayes MiddletonRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Cosponsors (2)

Bill Text(with markup)

Showing first 50k characters.

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

Related Legislation

Explore more bills from this author and on related topics

More from Rep. Dennis Paul

View all bills by Rep. Dennis Paul

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB3041

What does Texas HB3041 do?

HB3041 mandates that Texas public universities assign specific class ranks to homeschool and non-accredited private school students based on standardized test scores, thereby granting them access to automatic admission and state financial aid. This law removes administrative discretion, requiring immediate policy updates for Dual Credit enrollment by Fall 2025 and a complete restructuring of admissions ranking algorithms by Fall 2026. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 Compliance Deadline: Fall 2025 for Dual Credit access (Sec.

Who authored HB3041?

HB3041 was authored by Texas Representative Dennis Paul during the Regular Session.

When was HB3041 signed into law?

HB3041 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB3041?

HB3041 is enforced by Public Institutions of Higher Education (Admissions Offices), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and University of Texas at Austin (Specific statutory mandates).

How urgent is compliance with HB3041?

The compliance urgency for HB3041 is rated as "critical". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB3041?

The cost impact of HB3041 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB3041 address?

HB3041 addresses topics including education, education--higher, education--higher--admission & attendance, education--higher--student financial aid and higher education coordinating board, texas.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

Need Strategic Guidance on This Bill?

Need help with Government Relations, Lobbying, or compliance? JD Key Consulting has the expertise you're looking for.