TX SB521

Requires Texas general academic teaching institutions to consider applicants' performance on standardized tests (such as SAT/ACT) as a mandatory factor when making first-time freshman admissions decisions for students not admitted under automatic admission rules

Mandates that graduate and professional programs at public universities and medical/dental units consider standardized test scores in admissions, but prohibits using test scores as the sole criterion or primary basis for rejecting applicants

Requires institutions to compare applicants' standardized test scores against those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds when using test scores in admissions or scholarship decisions

Removes standardized test consideration from the optional list of socioeconomic factors and elevates it to a separate mandatory requirement for undergraduate admissions decisions

Applies to admissions beginning with the Fall 2026 semester, with immediate effect if passed by two-thirds vote or September 1, 2025 otherwise