Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning private colleges and universities in California from considering an applicant’s family or other connections to a school. California joins other states curbing legacy admissions following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action.
Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology and other private colleges in the state will now be required to submit an annual report to disclose compliance with the new law.
“In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work,” Newsom, a Democrat, said Monday. “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.”
The ban aims to ensure that admissions decisions aren’t influenced by factors such as wealth or personal connections. Specifically, it targets the benefit some applicants receive when seeking entry to selective colleges and universities to which their parents gave money or from which they graduated. Ivy League schools are often famous examples of legacy and donor preferences being given to prospective students.
Nearly 600 colleges and universities considered legacy status in admissions for the 2022-23 academic year, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, a nonpartisan research arm of the Education Department.