By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 518
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  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 [Because of
  changing demographic trends, diversity, and population increases
  in the state, each] general academic teaching institution shall
  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
  [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 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.