universities must consider test scores for nonautomatic admissions

The text as introduced · 915 words

89R3030 CXP-D

By: Kolkhorst
S.B. No. 521

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring the consideration of standardized test scores

as a factor in nonautomatic admissions decisions at certain public

institutions of higher education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 51.805(b), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) The general academic teaching institution, after

admitting students under Sections 51.803 and 51.804, shall admit

other applicants for admission as undergraduate students. It is

the intent of the legislature that all institutions of higher

education pursue academic excellence by considering students'

academic achievements in decisions related to admissions. In

making first-time freshmen admissions decisions, each [ Because of

changing demographic trends, diversity, and population increases

in the state, each ] general academic teaching institution shall

also consider :

(1) the applicant's performance on a standardized test

appropriate for undergraduate admissions; and

(2) because of changing demographic trends,

diversity, and population increases in the state, all of, any of, or

a combination of the following socioeconomic indicators or factors

[ in making first-time freshman admissions decisions ]:

(A) [ (1) ] the applicant's academic record;

(B) [ (2) ] the socioeconomic background of the

applicant, including the percentage by which the applicant's family

is above or below any recognized measure of poverty, the

applicant's household income, and the applicant's parents' level of

education;

(C) [ (3) ] whether the applicant would be the

first generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate

from an institution of higher education;

(D) [ (4) ] whether the applicant has bilingual

proficiency;

(E) [ (5) ] the financial status of the

applicant's school district;

(F) [ (6) ] the performance level of the

applicant's school as determined by the school accountability

criteria used by the Texas Education Agency;

(G) [ (7) ] the applicant's responsibilities while

attending school, including whether the applicant has been

employed, whether the applicant has helped to raise children, or

other similar factors;

(H) [ (8) ] the applicant's region of residence;

(I) [ (9) ] whether the applicant is a resident of

a rural or urban area or a resident of a central city or suburban

area in the state;

(J) [ (10) the applicant's performance on

standardized tests;

[ (11) ] the applicant's performance on standardized

tests in comparison with that of other students from similar

socioeconomic backgrounds;

(K) [ (12) ] whether the applicant attended any

school while the school was under a court-ordered desegregation

plan;

(L) [ (13) ] the applicant's involvement in

community activities;

(M) [ (14) ] the applicant's extracurricular

activities;

(N) [ (15) ] the applicant's commitment to a

particular field of study;

(O) [ (16) ] the applicant's personal interview;

(P) [ (17) ] the applicant's admission to a

comparable accredited out-of-state institution; and

(Q) [ (18) ] any other consideration the

institution considers necessary to accomplish the institution's

stated mission.

SECTION 2. Section 51.842, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) and amending Subsection (b) to

read as follows:

(a-1) In making admissions decisions for the program, a

graduate or professional program of a general academic teaching

institution or medical or dental unit shall consider an applicant's

performance on a standardized test appropriate for the program,

except that the applicant's performance on the standardized test

may not be used as the sole criterion for consideration of the

applicant or as the primary criterion to end consideration of the

applicant. The applicant's performance on the standardized test

must also be used to compare the applicant's test score with those

of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the

extent that those backgrounds can be properly determined and

identified by the general academic teaching institution or medical

and dental unit based on information provided in the institution's

or unit's admissions process.

(b) An applicant's performance on a standardized test may

not be used in the [ admissions or ] competitive scholarship process

for a graduate or professional program as the sole criterion for

consideration of the applicant or as the primary criterion to end

consideration of the applicant. If an applicant's performance on a

standardized test is used in the [ admissions or ] competitive

scholarship process, the applicant's performance must also be used

to compare the applicant's test score with those of other

applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent

that those backgrounds can be properly determined and identified by

the general academic teaching institution or medical and dental

unit based on information provided in the institution's or unit's

[ admissions or ] competitive scholarship process.

(b-1) Subsections (a-1) and (b) do [ This subsection does ]

not apply to a standardized test used to measure the English

language proficiency of a student who is a graduate of a foreign

institution of higher education.

SECTION 3. Sections 51.805 and 51.842, Education Code, as

amended by this Act, apply beginning with admissions for the 2026

fall semester. Admissions for an academic period before the 2026

fall semester are governed by the law in effect immediately before

the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in

effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.