Bill Text: TX SB518 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to the consideration of standardized test scores as a factor in nonautomatic admissions decisions at certain public institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-06 - Referred to Higher Education [SB518 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB518-Engrossed.html
By: Kolkhorst | S.B. No. 518 |
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relating to 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 [ |
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also consider: | ||
(1) if provided by the applicant, 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 | ||
[ |
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(A) [ |
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(B) [ |
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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) [ |
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first generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate | ||
from an institution of higher education; | ||
(D) [ |
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proficiency; | ||
(E) [ |
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applicant's school district; | ||
(F) [ |
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applicant's school as determined by the school accountability | ||
criteria used by the Texas Education Agency; | ||
(G) [ |
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attending school, including whether the applicant has been | ||
employed, whether the applicant has helped to raise children, or | ||
other similar factors; | ||
(H) [ |
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(I) [ |
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a rural or urban area or a resident of a central city or suburban | ||
area in the state; | ||
(J) [ |
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[ |
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tests in comparison with that of other students from similar | ||
socioeconomic backgrounds; | ||
(K) [ |
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school while the school was under a court-ordered desegregation | ||
plan; | ||
(L) [ |
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community activities; | ||
(M) [ |
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activities; | ||
(N) [ |
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particular field of study; | ||
(O) [ |
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(P) [ |
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comparable accredited out-of-state institution; and | ||
(Q) [ |
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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 [ |
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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 [ |
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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 | ||
[ |
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(b-1) Subsections (a-1) and (b) do [ |
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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 2024 | ||
fall semester. Admissions for an academic period before the 2024 | ||
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, 2023. |