HBA-BSM H.B. 3124 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3124
By: Garcia
Higher Education
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently,  some public colleges and universities in Texas may put too much
emphasis upon a student's Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores and
American College Test (ACT) scores in making undergraduate admissions
decisions and not enough emphasis on the student's high school performance.
The fact that such emphasis is being placed on test results may lead to a
socioeconomic disparity.  Children from families with a low amount of
disposable income may be  at a disadvantage, as they may not be able to
afford extra coaching for the tests.  House Bill 3124 provides that any
state funded  higher education academic institution is prohibited from
excluding an applicant based solely on the applicant's performance or score
or an admission test and from not taking other academic achievements into
consideration.       

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 3124 amends the Education Code to prohibit a general academic
teaching institution or medical and dental unit from including an
applicant's score on an admission test in any index or formula for ranking
applicants or for determining whether an applicant is eligible for
admission in a manner  in which the applicant's score or performance
accounts for more than 20 percent of the applicant's total score on the
index or formula.  The bill prohibits the exclusion of an applicant from
consideration for admission based solely on the applicant's performance or
score on an admission test, or an applicant's performance or score on an
admission test from being considered without considering all other relevant
factors available from the application and accompanying materials that
relate to the applicant's academic aptitude, skills, and achievements. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.