77R11008 JSA-F                           
         By Garcia, Rangel                                     H.B. No. 1946
         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1946:
         By Reyna of Dallas                                C.S.H.B. No. 1946
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the consideration of certain tests and assessment
 1-3     instruments in admissions to public institutions of higher
 1-4     education.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1. Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
 1-7     amended by adding Section 51.810 to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 51.810.  CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN ADMISSION TESTS. (a)
 1-9     In this section, "admission test" means a test or assessment
1-10     instrument designed or administered primarily to provide
1-11     institutions of higher education with information to be used in
1-12     considering applicants for admission to institutions of higher
1-13     education or to specific types of degree programs or professional
1-14     schools.  The  term includes all or a portion of the Scholastic
1-15     Assessment Test (SAT), American College Test (ACT), Graduate Record
1-16     Examinations (GRE), Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), Law
1-17     School Admissions Test (LSAT), or Medical College Admission Test
1-18     (MCAT).
1-19           (b)  A general academic teaching institution or medical and
1-20     dental unit that offers admissions to a baccalaureate, graduate,
1-21     postgraduate, or professional degree program or to a professional
1-22     school,  including admissions by transfer from another institution
1-23     or program, may not:
1-24                 (1)  count or include an applicant's performance or
 2-1     score on an admission test in any index or formula for ranking
 2-2     applicants or for determining whether an applicant is eligible for
 2-3     admission in a manner in which the applicant's score or performance
 2-4     accounts for more than 20 percent of the applicant's total score on
 2-5     the index or formula;
 2-6                 (2)  exclude any applicant from consideration for
 2-7     admission based solely on the applicant's performance or score on
 2-8     an admission test; or
 2-9                 (3)  consider an applicant's performance or score on an
2-10     admission test without considering all other relevant factors
2-11     available from the application and accompanying materials that
2-12     relate to the applicant's academic aptitude, skills, and
2-13     achievements.
2-14           (c)  The governing board of each institution to which this
2-15     section applies shall monitor the institution's compliance with
2-16     this section and report on that compliance to the Texas Higher
2-17     Education Coordinating Board before December 1 of each
2-18     even-numbered year.
2-19           SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to
2-20     admissions to any semester or other academic term that begins on or
2-21     after January 1, 2002.
2-22           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-23     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-24     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-25     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-26     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.