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H1458 • 2025

An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education

An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education

Education
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Adam J. Scanlon
Last action
2025-08-28
Official status
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education

An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education By Representative Scanlon of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education By Representative Scanlon of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 1458) of Adam J.
  • Scanlon relative to admissions requirements to public institutions of higher education.
  • Higher Education.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-08-28 House

    Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means

  2. 2025-04-29 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 05/05/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Higher Education

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education
By Representative Scanlon of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1458) of Adam J. Scanlon relative to admissions requirements to public institutions of higher education. Higher Education.
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

Current Bill Text

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Bill H.1458

SECTION 1: The department of higher education shall review the practice of requiring applicants to take a standardized college entrance aptitude test to gain admittance to an undergraduate degree program at a public institution of higher education in the commonwealth.

The review shall include an analysis of the number of public institutions of higher education in Massachusetts and in other states that require a standardized college entrance aptitude test, that make the test optional, or that do not permit the use of the tests and recent trends in this area; the number of states that do not require or do not permit the use of such tests by law or regulation and their experience; the impact on student success and achievement of not requiring or not permitting the use of such tests; the extent to which the SAT and ACT tests accurately and reliably measure skills and knowledge that indicate a student’s achievements, abilities and college readiness; evidence of bias in the tests; and the impact of standardized admission tests on diversity among students, including diversity among racial and ethnic groups, income and wealth resources, and among immigrant and first-generation students, and other topics as determined by the department.

In preparing the review, the department shall consult with people concerned with or with expertise regarding standardized admission tests, including leaders of secondary and public higher education institutions, students of public higher education institutions, people with academic expertise in admission criteria and standardized testing, organizations concerned about standardized admissions testing; organizations representing people of color, immigrants, and low-income people, and others as determined by the department.

The review shall be published on the website of the department and submitted to the chairs of the joint committee on higher education, the joint committee on education, and the joint committee on racial equity, civil rights, and inclusion no later than 1 year after the effective date of this act.

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