(a) In this section, “governing board” and “institution of higher education” have the meanings assigned by § 61.003.
(b) This section applies only to an undergraduate student who drops a course at an institution of higher education and only if:
(1) the student was able to drop the course without receiving a grade or incurring an academic penalty;
(2) the student’s transcript indicates or will indicate that the student was enrolled in the course; and
(3) the student is not dropping the course in order to withdraw from the institution.

(b-1) This section does not apply to a student enrolled in a competency-based baccalaureate degree program, as defined by § 56.521.
(c) Except as provided under rules adopted under Subsection (d), an institution of higher education may not permit a student to drop more than six courses, including any course a transfer student has dropped at another institution of higher education, under circumstances described by Subsection (b).
(c-1) An institution of higher education may not count toward the number of courses permitted to be dropped under Subsection (c) or a policy adopted under Subsection (d) a course that a student dropped while enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program previously earned by the student.
(c-2) An institution of higher education may not count toward the number of courses permitted to be dropped under Subsection (c) or a policy adopted under Subsection (d) a dual credit or dual enrollment course that a student dropped before graduating from high school.
(d) The governing board of an institution of higher education may adopt a policy under which the maximum number of courses a student is permitted to drop under circumstances described by Subsection (b) is less than the maximum number of courses that a student may drop under Subsection (c).
(e) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules under which an institution of higher education shall permit a student to drop more courses under circumstances described by Subsection (b) than the number of courses permitted to be dropped under Subsection (c) or under a policy adopted under Subsection (d) if good cause exists for dropping more than that number, including:
(1) the student’s showing of:
(A) a severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete a course;
(B) the student’s responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete a course;
(C) the death of a person who:
(i) is considered to be a member of the student’s family under a rule adopted under this subsection for purposes of this paragraph; or
(ii) is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student under a rule adopted under this subsection that the person’s death is considered to be a showing of good cause; or
(D) the active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United States of:
(i) the student; or
(ii) a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family under a rule adopted under this subsection for purposes of this paragraph; or
(2) a disaster declared by the governor under § 418.014, Government Code, resulting in a bar or limit on in-person course attendance at the institution of a duration that significantly affects the student’s ability to participate in coursework, as determined in accordance with a rule adopted under this subsection for purposes of this subdivision.
(e-1) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules under which an institution of higher education shall permit a student to drop one additional course under circumstances described by Subsection (b) than the number of courses permitted to be dropped under Subsection (c) or under a policy adopted under Subsection (d) if the student:
(1) has reenrolled at the institution following a break in enrollment from the institution or another institution of higher education covering the 24-month period preceding the first class day of the initial semester or other academic term of the student’s reenrollment; and
(2) successfully completed at least 50 semester credit hours of course work at an institution of higher education before that break in enrollment.
(e-2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an institution of higher education may not count toward the number of courses permitted to be dropped under Subsection (c) or a policy adopted under Subsection (d) a course dropped by a student during the 2020 spring semester or summer term or the 2020-2021 academic year because of a bar or limit on in-person course attendance at the institution during the applicable semester or term due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
(f) In determining the number of courses dropped by a student for purposes of this section, a course, such as a laboratory or discussion course, in which a student is enrolled concurrently with a lecture course is not considered to be a course separate from the lecture course if:
(1) concurrent enrollment in both courses is required; and
(2) in dropping the lecture course, the student would be required to drop the laboratory, discussion, or other course in which the student is concurrently enrolled.