Sec. 33.007. COUNSELING REGARDING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION. (a) Each school counselor at an elementary, middle, or junior high school, including an open-enrollment charter school offering those grades, shall advise students and their parents or guardians regarding the importance of postsecondary education, coursework designed to prepare students for postsecondary education, and financial aid availability and requirements.

(b) During the first school year a student is enrolled in a high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment charter school, and again during each year of a student's enrollment in high school or at the high school level, a school counselor shall provide information about postsecondary education to the student and the student's parent or guardian. The information must include information regarding:

(1) the importance of postsecondary education;

(2) the advantages of earning an endorsement and a performance acknowledgment and completing the distinguished level of achievement under the foundation high school program under Section 28.025;

(3) the disadvantages of taking courses to prepare for a high school equivalency examination relative to the benefits of taking courses leading to a high school diploma;

(4) financial aid eligibility;

(5) instruction on how to apply for federal financial aid;

(6) the center for financial aid information established under Section 61.0776;

(7) the automatic admission of certain students to general academic teaching institutions as provided by Section 51.803;

(8) the eligibility and academic performance requirements for the TEXAS Grant as provided by Subchapter M, Chapter 56;

(9) the availability of programs in the district under which a student may earn college credit, including advanced placement programs, dual credit programs, joint high school and college credit programs, and international baccalaureate programs;

(10) the availability of education and training vouchers and tuition and fee waivers to attend an institution of higher education as provided by Section 54.366 for a student who is or was previously in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services; and

(11) the availability of college credit awarded by institutions of higher education to veterans and military servicemembers for military experience, education, and training obtained during military service as described by the informational materials developed under Section 302.0031(h), Labor Code.

(b-1) When providing information under Subsection (b)(10), the school counselor must report to the student and the student's parent or guardian the number of times the counselor has provided the information to the student.

(b-2) Information provided under Subsection (b)(11) must explain to any student who is enlisted or intends to enlist in the armed forces of the United States the informational materials developed under Section 302.0031(h), Labor Code.

(c) At the beginning of grades 10 and 11, a school counselor certified under the rules of the State Board for Educator Certification shall explain the requirements of automatic admission to a general academic teaching institution under Section 51.803 to each student enrolled in a high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment charter school who has a grade point average in the top 25 percent of the student's high school class.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 973 (S.B. 282), Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2007.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1342 (S.B. 175), Sec. 4, eff. June 19, 2009.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 211 (H.B. 5), Sec. 29(a), effective beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 211 (H.B. 5), Sec. 30(a), eff. June 10, 2013.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 481 (H.B. 2537), Sec. 1, eff. June 9, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 550 (S.B. 490), Sec. 1, eff. June 9, 2017.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 37 (H.B. 114), Sec. 1, eff. May 16, 2019.