(a) In this section:
(1) “Institution of higher education” has the meaning assigned by § 61.003.
(2) “Nontraditional secondary education” means a course of study at the secondary school level in a nonaccredited private school setting, including a home school.
(b) Because the State of Texas considers successful completion of a nontraditional secondary education to be equivalent to graduation from a public high school, an institution of higher education must treat an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student who presents evidence that the person has successfully completed a nontraditional secondary education according to the same general standards, including specific standardized testing score requirements, as other applicants for undergraduate admission who have graduated from a public high school.

Terms Used In Texas Education Code 51.9241

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) An institution of higher education may not require an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student who presents evidence that the person has successfully completed a nontraditional secondary education to:
(1) obtain or submit evidence that the person has obtained a general education development certificate, certificate of high school equivalency, or other credentials equivalent to a public high school degree; or
(2) take an examination or comply with any other application or admission requirement not generally applicable to other applicants for undergraduate admission to the institution.
(d) If an institution of higher education in its undergraduate admission review process sorts applicants by high school graduating class rank, the institution shall place any applicant who presents evidence that the applicant has successfully completed a nontraditional secondary education that does not include a high school graduating class ranking at the average high school graduating class rank of undergraduate applicants to the institution who have equivalent standardized testing scores as the applicant.