SECTION 4.54. Exemptions, Exceptions, and Waivers

(a) The following students shall be exempt from the requirements of this title, whereby exempt students shall not be required to provide any additional demonstration of college readiness and shall be allowed to enroll in any entry-level freshman course as defined in §4.53(13) of this title (relating to Definitions):

(1) For a period of five (5) years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs at or above the following standards that cannot be raised by institutions:

(A) ACT

(i) ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023: composite score of 23 with a minimum of 19 on the English test shall be exempt for both the reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment, and/or 19 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment.

(ii) ACT administered on or after February 15, 2023: a combined score of 40 on the English and Reading (E+R) tests shall be exempt for both reading and writing or ELAR sections of the TSI Assessment. A score of 22 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. There is no composite score.

(iii) The use of scores from both the ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023, and the ACT administered after February 15, 2023, is allowable, as long as the benchmarks set forth in clause (ii) of this subparagraph are met.

(B) SAT

(i) SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016: a combined critical reading (formerly "verbal") and mathematics score of 1070 with a minimum of 500 on the critical reading test shall be exempt for both reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment; a combined critical reading (formerly "verbal") and mathematics score of 1070 with a minimum of 500 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment.

(ii) SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016: a minimum score of 480 on the Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) test shall be exempt for both reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment; a minimum score of 530 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. There is no combined score.

(iii) Mixing or combining scores from the SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016 and the SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016 is not allowable.

(C) GED: minimum score of 165 on the Mathematical Reasoning subject test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. A minimum score of 165 on the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA) subject test shall be exempt for the English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) section of the TSI Assessment.

(D) HiSET: minimum score of 15 on the Mathematics subtest shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. A minimum score of 15 on the Reading subtest and a minimum score of 15 on the Writing subtest, including a minimum score of 4 on the essay, shall be exempt for the English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) section of the TSI Assessment.

(2) For a period of three (3) years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) with a minimum scale score of 1770 on the writing test, a Texas Learning Index (TLI) of 86 on the mathematics test and 89 on the reading test.

(3) For a period of five (5) years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs at or above the following standards that cannot be raised by institutions:

(A) on the Eleventh grade exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) with a minimum scale score of 2200 on the math section and/or a minimum scale score of 2200 on the English Language Arts section with a writing subsection score of at least 3, shall be exempt from the TSI Assessment required under this title for those corresponding sections; or

(B) STAAR end-of-course (EOC) with a minimum Level 2 score of 4000 on the English III shall be exempt from the TSI Assessment required under this title for both reading and writing, and a minimum Level 2 score of 4000 on the Algebra II EOC shall be exempt from the TSI Assessment required under this title for the mathematics section

(4) A student who has graduated with an associate or baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education.

(5) A student who transfers to an institution from a public, private, or independent institution of higher education or an accredited out-of-state institution of higher education and who has satisfactorily completed college-level coursework as determined by the receiving institution.

(6) A student who has previously attended any institution and has been determined to have met readiness standards by that institution. For students meeting non-Algebra intensive readiness standards in mathematics as defined in §4.59 of this title (relating to Determination of Readiness to Perform Entry-Level Freshman Coursework), institutions may choose to require additional preparatory coursework/interventions for Algebra intensive courses, including MATH 1314/1324/1414 (or their local equivalent). It is the institution's responsibility to ensure that students are clearly informed of the consequences of successful completion of a mathematics pathways model which results in meeting the mathematics college readiness standard only for specific entry-level freshman mathematics courses.

(7) A student who is enrolled in a certificate program of one year or less (Level-One certificates, 42 or fewer semester credit hours or the equivalent) at a public junior college, a public technical institute, or a public state college.

(8) A student who is serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, the Texas National Guard, or as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States and has been serving for at least three years preceding enrollment.

(9) A student who on or after August 1, 1990, was honorably discharged, retired, or released from active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard or service as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States.

(10) A student who successfully completes a college preparatory course under Texas Education Code §28.014 is exempt for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of high school graduation with respect to the content area of the course. The student must enroll in the student's first college-level course in the exempted content area in the student's first year of enrollment in an institution of higher education. This exemption applies only at the institution of higher education that partners with the school district in which the student is enrolled to provide the course. Additionally, an institution of higher education may enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with a partnering institution of higher education to accept the exemption for the college preparatory course.

(b) An institution may exempt a non-degree-seeking or non-certificate-seeking student.

(c) ESOL Waiver--An institution may grant a temporary waiver from the assessment required under this title for students with demonstrated limited English proficiency in order to provide appropriate ESOL/ESL coursework and interventions. The waiver must be removed after the student attempts 15 credit hours of developmental ESOL coursework at a public junior college, public technical institute, or public state college; 9 credit hours of developmental ESOL coursework at a general academic teaching institution; or prior to enrolling in entry-level freshman coursework, whichever comes first, at which time the student would be administered the TSI Assessment. Funding limits as defined in Texas Education Code, §51.340 for developmental education still apply. Developmental Education is not available for high school students.

(d) Any student who has been determined to be exempt in mathematics, reading, and/or writing under subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall not be required to enroll in developmental coursework and/or interventions in the corresponding area of exemption.

Source Note: The provisions of this §4.54 adopted to be effective December 3, 2003, 28 TexReg 10753; amended to be effective May 17, 2004, 29 TexReg 4868; amended to be effective August 15, 2004, 29 TexReg 7971; amended to be effective November 28, 2012, 37 TexReg 9358; amended to be effective August 15, 2013, 38 TexReg 5063; amended to be effective November 21, 2013, 38 TexReg 8195; amended to be effective September 4, 2014, 39 TexReg 6841; amended to be effective November 25, 2015, 40 TexReg 8203; amended to be effective August 30, 2016, 41 TexReg 6480; amended to be effective May 11, 2017, 42 TexReg2405; amended to be effective February 28, 2018, 43 TexReg 1059; amended to be effective May 17, 2021, 46 TexReg 3123; amended to be effective February 15, 2023, 48 TexReg 670