Oct 02, 2024 19:00:00

California bans 'legacy admissions,' a practice that allows children to get into their parents' alma maters through connections

Some universities in the United States have 'legacy admissions,' which give preferential treatment to relatives of graduates in the entrance examination, and 'donation admissions,' which gives preferential treatment to students who have connections with donors. In California, home to prestigious universities such as Stanford University, a state law has been enacted that bans legacy admissions at private universities. Legacy admissions are already prohibited at public universities in the state, and from 2025, all preferential treatment will be prohibited at private universities as well.

California bans legacy and donor preferences in admissions at private, nonprofit universities | Governor of California

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/30/california-bans-legacy-and-donor-preferences-in-admissions-at-private-nonprofit-universities/

Ting & Supporters Of Fairness & Equity In The College Admissions Process Celebrate The End Of Donor & Legacy Preferences In CA | Official Website - Assemblymember Phil Ting Representing the 19th California Assembly District
https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20240930-ting-supporters-fairness-equity-college-admissions-process-celebrate-end

California Bans Legacy Preferences at Private Universities - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/30/us/california-bans-legacy-preferences-private-universities.html

On September 30, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1780 (AB 1780), an amendment to the bill to ban legacy and endowed admissions at private universities.

'Everyone in California should be able to succeed through merit, ability and hard work, and the California Dream should not be the preserve of only a lucky few. That's why we're making higher education fair and wide open for all,' Governor Newsom said in a statement upon signing the bill.

The background to this legal change is

the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that declared racially-based affirmative action, or 'affirmative action,' used in university entrance exams to be unconstitutional.

Legacy admissions itself does not take race into consideration, but the measure, which gives preferential treatment to the children of alumni and major donors, has been criticized for years as special treatment for white students and those from wealthy families.

A 2022 poll found that 75% of American adults said that college admissions shouldn't be determined by whether or not a student's parents attended that school.

'Calling nepotism a 'legacy' doesn't justify it,' said Ryan Cieslikowski, co-founder of Class Action, a group that works to address inequality in college admissions and a Stanford alumnus.

According to a study by Assemblyman Phil Ting, who authored the bill, legacy and endowed admissions made up 14.4% of the University of Southern California's enrollment in the 2022 academic year. At Stanford University, it was 13.8%, and at Santa Clara University, Governor Newsom's alma mater, it was 13.1%.

California is the second state after Maryland to ban legacy admissions at both private and public universities, while Illinois, Virginia, and Colorado only ban legacy admissions at public higher education institutions.

'Becoming a college freshman requires hard work, good grades and a strong career, not the size of the check your family can write or who your relatives are,' said Senator Ting.

The new law will go into effect on September 1, 2025, and California universities will be required to submit annual compliance reports to the agency starting in June 2026.