California preparing for ban on private college legacy admission

The longstanding private college admissions practice of giving preference to the offspring of big bucks donors or notable alumni will soon come to an end in California. For some observers, the final sunset of legacy admissions across the state’s higher education system can’t come fast enough.

“I think it’s a long time coming,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), author of Assembly Bill 1780, which bars California’s private colleges and universities from giving such preferences. “For too long, we’ve given special preference for the wealthiest individuals who already have every advantage in life, and already an advantage as they are applying for college and on top of it, we give them a greater advantage through the legacy and donor admissions process.”

The bill, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on September 30^th, goes into effect in September 2025. Schools will also be required to submit compliance reports on their admissions practices to the state legislature and the Department of Justice by the end of June 2026.

In an interview with Capitol Weekly, Ting said he introduced a similar bill shortly after the Varsity Blues scandal in 2019 but had a hard time getting it through legislature.

“I converted the bill into a study bill and the universities who did do legacy admissions were asked to submit data, submit information about that,” Ting said.

Ting says he brought the bill forward again based on data from a report recently published by Opportunity Insights and the recent United State Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.

“If we can’t look at addressing past racial discrimination, I don’t know why the wealthiest Americans, who have every advantage or any, should get preferential treatment in the admissions process,” Ting said.

Ting said he hopes that private universities will follow the law and also still accept students with Cal-Grants.

The factoring in of race or ethnicity in college admission was banned in California in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 209, while legacy admissions were eliminated at the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems in 1998.

“These universities recognize that they also operate in the court of public opinion….They recognize that legacy admissions are not popular and have become less popular in the discussion of affirmative action and race and ethnic based preferences.”

Connie Chung Joe, the CEO for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSoCal) said the organization has a strong policy for supporting education, equity and affirmative action so when Ting asked AJSoCal to co-sponsor a bill spreading those prohibitions to private colleges and universities they were proud to join.

“Even without affirmative action in California, we’ve really made a point to think about how we promote diversity in higher education and communities of color,” Chung Joe said. “Making sure disadvantaged or less represented communities are able to have full access to college opportunities.”

Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley, said there is no way predict how private universities will respond to the legislation.

“These universities recognize that they also operate in the court of public opinion,” said Schnur. “They recognize that legacy admissions are not popular and have become less popular in the discussion of affirmative action and race and ethnic based preferences.”

Schnur said that he guesses most private universities will make an effort to move away from legacy admissions, but he will be surprised if they give up the practice all together.

Questions as to how they intend to address the new rules drew a range of answers from some of the impacted universities.

In a statement to Capitol Weekly, Santa Clara University said the university is committed to fair and equitable admissions practices complying with state and federal.

“Legacy status alone has never been determinative of a student’s admission. Factors such as academic quality, leadership, preparedness, and resilience in the face of challenges are the key admissions considerations for students who apply,” Santa Clara University to Capitol Weekly.

The University of Southern California (USC) said in an email statement to Capitol Weekly, that all students admitted meet their high academic standards through a “holistic review” and that the university considers students’ lived experiences and how the student will contribute to the campus.

“We continuously evolve our recruitment, admission and financial aid programs to create a student body that is diverse in all respects, always complying with the law,” the school said.

Stanford University said they are unable to give a statement about the law and its impact at this time due to the law going into effect Sept. 1, 2025.

In an interview with Capitol Weekly, Kristen Soares, the President of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU), which represents 90 of the private non-profit colleges and universities in California said that the organization made it clear they “weren’t comfortable” with the state dictating admissions policy and practices and the precedence it sets.

“We are very clear about that, but we are also very clear that we welcome the opportunity for people to better understand that it’s equitable for all,” Soares said.

Santa Clara University said in an email statement to Capitol Weekly, that they have applied aggressive outreach and support programs to increase diversity in their student body, provide “educational opportunities to talented students from all communities.”

They recently announced “The Santa Clara Promise to meet the full demonstrated financial need of admitted first-year students who qualify for Cal-Grants” and to those who graduate from the Cristo Rey Network high schools.

Chung Joe said they point of the bill is to “level the playing field” for communities of color and less privileged groups.

“If you come from parents who are graduate to Stanford University or USC, and you come from money, you’re more likely going to be able to get a leg up going into schools like that,” Chung Joe said.

Mahrukh Siddiqui is a Capitol Weekly intern. Click here for more information about Capitol Weekly’s Public Policy Journalism Internship.