California bans legacy admissions

What does this mean for AHS and California students?

Staff Writer

On September 30, 2024, Gavin Newsom signed Bill AB 1780 into law, banning legacy and donor admissions at California’s private universities from September 1, 2025. AB 1780 was introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting from San Francisco, and Ting expressed his support for the legislation, “We must level the playing field. That means making the college application process more fair and equitable. Hard work, good grades and a well-rounded background should earn you a spot in the incoming class—not the size of the check your family can write or who you’re related to.”

Governor Newsom reiterated Ting’s views.“In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work. 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.”

According to Forbes, California is now the fifth state to ban legacy admissions, following the lead of Colorado, Virginia, Illinois, and Maryland. This ban will act as a complement to the state’s legacy ban for the UC public colleges signed by Governor Pete Wilson in 1998.

The Class Action organization, an advocacy group against legacy admissions, praised Newsom’s decision to sign the ban, “This is a victory for students across the country who cannot rely on family connections and net worth to access top colleges and universities.” Additionally, the Lawyers for Civil Rights organization published a statement, “As the organization that filed the federal civil rights complaint against Harvard University for its discriminatory legacy and donor preferences, we applaud California’s move.”

Students on campus have also voiced their support for this legislation. “I support the California legacy admissions ban. I don’t think that just because someone’s parents went to a college, they should have better chances to go to that college. They should also be admitted based on merit. That way, it’s more fair to everyone who applies to that college,” said Qingxin Zhang (12).

However, some groups do not support or see the benefit of the legacy ban. As presented by CalMatters, Julio Mata, president of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling, said in a statement, “It’s not going to have as big an impact as people think it will. It’s more symbolic. It might open up a few spots for regular students, but it won’t completely change the landscape.” Adding on to the concerns, Stanford Law School professor Ralph Richard Banks explains his problem with the ban during an interview conducted by Sharon Driscoll on Stanford Law School’s blog. “Despite the unfairness of legacy preferences, private universities should be permitted to rely on them, as they are absolutely central to the fund-raising model on which universities rely,” he said.

California’s private universities, such as Stanford (photo above) and USC, will no longer be allowed to accept legacy/donor admissions (Photo credit: The San Francisco Peninsula).