What would ending affirmative action in higher education mean for Louisiana schools?

Whether colleges and universities should consider race or ethnicity during the admission process has been a widely debated topic in postsecondary education for years.

However, proposed legislation at the Louisiana State Capitol could potentially tip the scale on the conversation regarding admissions process.

Senate Bill No. 128, introduced by Sen. Jay Morris (R-West Monroe), prohibits colleges and universities from using an applicant's race or an applicant's family member's race, sex or national origin during admission and scholarship processes.

With the proposed legislation pending approval from the Senate Education Committee, how could it affect students in higher education?

What exactly does the proposal read?

The proposed law prohibits public postsecondary education institutions from using information relative to an applicant's or an applicant's family member's race, sex, or national origin in making admissions decisions for the institution or a program of study.

According to the proposed law's original text, each public college and university would be required to clearly state the criteria used in their admissions processes in admissions documents and on the institution's admissions website. The schools will also be prohibited from using subjective or vague criteria in the process.

The proposed law also prohibits public postsecondary education institutions from using information relative to an applicant's or an applicant's family member's race, sex or national origin in awarding of scholarships, grants, or other financial aid, unless the aid program requires the preferential treatment. It prohibits a scholarship, grant, or financial aid program funded with any state or institution monies from including terms that provide preferential treatment based on race, sex or national origin.

More: What would ending college diversity measures mean for some Louisiana schools?

Each public college and university will be required to provide a report to the Senate and House education committees on the aid programs that require the consideration of a student's race, sex or national origin and to identify the funding mechanism for each aid program.

A student may seek a writ of mandamus or injunctive relief, together with attorneys fees and costs, to require compliance with the proposed law.

Attempts to reach Morris for comment were unsuccessful.

How would the proposed legislation affect students in higher education?

The consideration of race, gender and other unrelated factors were put into place to ensure no biases in the admission and scholarship processes, Grambling State University Vice-President of Enrollment Management Gavin Hamms said.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1978 following Regents of the University of California v. Blakke, that using race as an exclusive basis for admissions decisions violated the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion sex or national origin.

With the removal of those considerations, Hamms said, the proposed legislation almost suggests that racial biases and gender inequality no longer exist.

"You're almost making decisions based upon some quantitative data when there's so many other factors that go into student performance," Hamms said. "There's a lot of suggestion that there may be racial biases in standardized testing. They're also socioeconomic issues that go into resources that allow certain student populations to be able to have the resources to be able to have test preparation at an early age and so all of these things being considered, you have to ensure that access is granted to all who want to pursue higher education. Sometimes those other points need to be considered."

The proposed legislation could potentially affect the awarding of foundation scholarships to students at the University of Louisiana Monroe, Vice-President of Enrollment Management Lisa Miller said. The ULM Foundation scholarships are privately funded by alumni and donors and are awarded to students who meet the criteria defined by those donors.

For example, the Lettie Whitehead Foundation offers scholarships to students pursuing medical careers at ULM as well as other universities throughout the country. When the university seeks out students for the scholarship, Miller said they look for students with the greatest needs and who are majoring in health sciences, such as nursing and medical laboratory science.

Miller said the university offers scholarships to minority and diverse students that are privately funded, some of which include a scholarship for Indian students, a scholarship for students identifying as LGBTQ and a scholarship for Black students endowed by the ULM Black Alumni Club.

"Those are not state dollars but private dollars," Miller said. "You will hear about... I would say it's usually going to be a more selective institution or a private institution that may be trying to diversify their population that will utilize their scholarship dollars to make that happen. The way we're audited by the state is that we must use our dollars the same across the board by the criteria that is the same across the state and the criteria that we are approved to award scholarships on. Private scholarships are a little bit different. If someone came in and they wanted to establish a scholarship for residents of Ouachita Parish or students of alumni then we would award those dollars accordingly but again those are private dollars, not state dollars."

Miller said she is not sure that the proposed legislation would have a significant impact on what the University of Louisiana Monroe is currently doing.

"I think what we're doing is fair," Miller said. "We have a very diverse population here at the university. We feel like we do a very good job at reaching out to every population accordingly and making them feel a part of the Warhawk family."

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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Proposed bill bans affirmative action in college admission processes