California Cracks Down on Legacy Admissions, Leveling Playing Field for College Entry
In a move aimed at promoting fairness and accessibility in higher education, California has become the first state to ban legacy and donor preferences at private colleges and universities, NBC News reports.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1780 into law on Monday, a landmark decision that will take effect in the fall of 2025.
The new rule prohibits private, non-profit institutions from giving preferential treatment to applicants based on familial or monetary connections to the school. This effectively ends legacy admissions, a practice long criticized for perpetuating advantages for wealthy and well-connected families.
The ban will impact prestigious schools like Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and Santa Clara University, all of which currently have high rates of legacy admissions. In 2022, for example, legacy students comprised about 14% of Stanford and USC’s student bodies.
“In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work,” Governor Newsom said in a statement. “The California Dream shouldn’t be accessible to just a lucky few, which is why we’re opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, fairly.”
Assemblyman Phil Ting, the San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill, cited the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down race-conscious admissions programs as a motivating factor in the passage of AB 1780.
“It’s all about fairness,” Ting said. “You want people to work hard and achieve access to education because they’ve worked hard and they’re really the most qualified students, not because they have wealthy parents or wealthy families who are donors.”
The law will require all private colleges and universities in the state to submit annual reports detailing their compliance. While Stanford officials have indicated they will review their admissions policies before the legislation takes effect, the new rule will not be fully implemented until the fall of 2026.
The ban on legacy admissions comes at a time when the nation is grappling with the impact of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling. Several top schools, including Amherst College, MIT, and Washington University in St. Louis, reported declines in Black student enrollment for the 2024 academic year, prompting concerns about the broader implications of the court’s decision.
