House Study Bill 547 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COLLINS) A BILL FOR An Act regarding student admission factors to regents 1 universities. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5036YC (5) 91 mb/jh
H.F. _____ Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known and may be 1 cited as the “Admissions Reform Act”. 2 Sec. 2. Section 262.9, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 3. Make rules for admission to and for the government of 5 said institutions, not inconsistent with law. The rules shall 6 require the institutions of higher learning under its control 7 to accept the classic learning test, developed by classic 8 learning initiatives, into the regent admission index as an 9 additional standardized test option, in addition to the college 10 readiness assessment administered by ACT, inc., and the college 11 readiness assessment administered by the college board, for 12 purposes of calculating the regent admission index score prior 13 to the beginning of the 2026-2027 academic year. 14 Sec. 3. Section 262.9, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 15 following new subsection: 16 NEW SUBSECTION . 43. By December 31, 2026, develop and 17 adopt a policy ensuring that only merit and the likelihood of 18 employment in Iowa after graduation are considered in admission 19 determination for students who do not qualify under the regent 20 admission index. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill relates to student admission in regents 25 universities. The bill directs the state board of regents 26 to adopt a policy ensuring only the factors of merit and 27 likelihood to work in Iowa post-graduation are considered in 28 admission determination for students who do not qualify under 29 the regent admission index (RAI). The RAI is part of the 30 admission requirements for Iowa high school students applying 31 to regents universities. The RAI combines the following 32 factors: ACT or SAT test score, high school cumulative 33 grade-point average, and the number of completed high school 34 core courses to predict success at regents universities. For 35 -1- LSB 5036YC (5) 91 mb/jh 1/ 2
H.F. _____ students who do not qualify under the RAI, the bill provides 1 that the only factors universities can utilize in making 2 admission determinations of these students are merit and 3 likelihood of employment in Iowa after graduation. The state 4 board shall adopt the policy by December 31, 2026. 5 The bill further directs the state board of regents to 6 accept the classic learning test into the RAI as an additional 7 standardized test option, in addition to the college readiness 8 assessments administered by ACT, inc., and the college board, 9 respectively the ACT and SAT, for purposes of calculating the 10 RAI score prior to the beginning of the 2026-2027 academic 11 year. The classic learning test is an online college entrance 12 exam. 13 -2- LSB 5036YC (5) 91 mb/jh 2/ 2