New legislation would change admission policies for Maryland’s universities.

If passed, it would guarantee students in the top 10% of each high school class, both public and private, an admission spot to the state’s public universities.

On Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tem Malcolm Augustine introduced Senate Bill 5, which would guarantee those spots in the University of Maryland system, Morgan State and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

The legislation is in response to last year’s Supreme Court ruling that found affirmative action in college admissions violated the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause.

“That’s what prompted me to start to look, out of grave concern for making sure to maintain diversity at our schools,” Augustine said during Wednesday’s hearing on the bill.

Schools that would be included: The University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Maryland Global Campus, Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Frostburg State University, Salisbury University, Towson University, University of Baltimore, Morgan State and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

“It tells them — you do well in the school where you are, with the resources that you have — you will be admitted to our top institutions,” Augustine said.

However, Shannon Gundy, the assistant vice president of enrollment management at the University of Maryland College Park, testified that the legislation would not improve diversity on college campuses.

Gundy told the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee that, according to a study by the university, “students who are at the top 10% of Maryland’s graduating classes are primarily white and Asian.”