This section creates the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities and assigns the board duties for admission, recruitment, scholarships, and notice, while letting students take some college courses and making enrolled students pay certain living costs.
Sec. 96.707. TEXAS ACADEMY OF LEADERSHIP IN THE HUMANITIES. (a) The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities is established as a two-year program at Lamar University at Beaumont for secondary school students selected under this section. The academy is under the management and control of the board of regents of the Texas State University System. (b) The goals of the academy are to: (1) provide gifted and talented secondary school students with accelerated academic experiences to ensure success as undergraduates with advanced standing; (2) encourage those students to develop their full leadership potential and their ethical decision-making capabilities; (3) provide those students with academic and social role models and mentors to motivate them to pursue academic excellence and self-direction; (4) provide a model setting for the training of teachers in the educational materials and methods appropriate for gifted learners; (5) encourage the cooperation of business leaders and Lamar University staff to provide practical settings and experiences for those students through independent study, shadowing, and mentorship; (6) establish a setting to support necessary research to determine the academy's effectiveness and to disseminate results of that research; and (7) promote the active involvement of parents in all educational programs of the academy. (c) To be eligible for admission to the academy, a student must: (1) complete and file with the board, on a form prescribed by the board, an application for admission and a written essay on a topic selected by the board; (2) have successfully completed 10th grade in school; (3) be nominated by a teacher, school administrator, parent, community leader, or another secondary school student; (4) submit to the board two written recommendations from teachers; (5) have a composite score on an assessment test that is equal to or greater than the equivalent of 1,000 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test; (6) have a language score on an assessment test that is equal to or greater than the equivalent of 550 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test; and (7) have complied with any other requirements adopted by the board under this subchapter. (d) The board shall recruit minority secondary school students to apply for admission to the academy. (e) The board shall select for admission to the academy eligible students based on additional testing required by the board and on a personal interview by a selection committee appointed by the board. If the board selects an eligible student for admission to the academy, the board shall send written notice to the student and the student's school district. (f) The board shall establish a tuition and fee scholarship for each student who enrolls in the academy. A student who enrolls in the academy is responsible for room, board, and book costs and must live in a residence determined by board rule. (g) The academy courses are taught by the faculty members of Lamar University. The board may employ additional staff for the academy. (h) The board shall provide each student enrolled in the academy with a mentor who is a faculty member at Lamar University to assist the student in completing the student's course of study in the academy. (i) A student of the academy may attend a college course offered by Lamar University and receive college credit for that course. (j) The board may accept gifts and grants from a public or private source for the academy. (k) For each student enrolled in the academy, the academy is entitled to allotments from the Foundation School Program under Chapter 48 as if the academy were a school district without a tier one local share for purposes of Section 48.266. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 1061, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1071, Sec. 25, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 695 (H.B. 771), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 943 (H.B. 3), Sec. 3.070, eff. September 1, 2019.