Texas House bill by Rep. Paul mandates class ranks for nontraditional education applicants

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Dennis Paul aims to standardize class ranking for applicants from nontraditional secondary education at Texas public higher education institutions and increase transparency of median entrance exam scores, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 58 Democrats and 81 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat voted against it.

Dennis Paul introduced the bill in the Texas House on Wednesday, Feb. 19, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Paul graduated from San Jacinto College with a BS.

Paul, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2015 to represent the state’s 129th House district, replacing previous state representative John E. Davis.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘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’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates public higher education institutions in Texas to assign class ranks to applicants who have completed nontraditional secondary education, using a median score comparison method for college entrance exams. It requires these institutions to publicly post median entrance exam scores by class rank. The bill also obligates the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to disseminate information on financial assistance programs and revises eligibility criteria for the TEXAS grant and scholarships, including considerations for nontraditional education graduates. These changes apply to admissions and financial assistance beginning with the fall 2026 semester. The bill is effective immediately upon receiving sufficient legislative support or on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Penny Morales Shaw (Democrat – District 148) and Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (Republican – District 23).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Monday, May 19, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.