HBA-KDB H.B. 1946 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1946 By: Garcia Higher Education 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE There is concern that colleges and universities place too much emphasis on an applicant's standardized test scores in admitting or rejecting an applicant. Standardized testing results may be misleading as indicators of potential college performance. House Bill 1946 authorizes a general academic teaching institution to only accord the applicant's performance on a standardized test a weight of 20 percent or less in the overall decision making process for admitting an applicant. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1946 amends the Education Code to prohibit a general academic teaching institution (institution), for the undergraduate or postgraduate admission of an applicant, from requiring an applicant to undertake a standardized test as a sole determinant in deciding whether to admit or reject the applicant. The bill authorizes an institution to utilize an applicant's performance on a standardized test as one of multiple factors in such a decision and to only accord the applicant's performance on a standardized test a weight of 20 percent or less in the overall decision making process. EFFECTIVE DATE Fall of 2002.