A new law banning legacy and donor admissions at California’s private universities, including USC and Stanford — among the handful of schools that admit significant numbers of children of alumni or donors — was signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said the action would promote equal educational opportunity.
“In California, everyone should be able to advance through merit, skill and hard work,” Newsom said in a statement. “The California dream shouldn’t be available to just a lucky few, which is why we’re opening the door to higher education wide enough to make it fair for everyone. »
The law affects a small number of private institutions in the state that consider family ties in admissions. Others currently adopting this practice include Santa Clara, Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd colleges.
California State University and the University of California do not give admissions preferences to children of alumni or donors. Some private colleges, including Pomona and Occidental, have ended this tradition in recent years.
The issue of preferential admissions treatment based on family status and wealth sparked renewed opposition after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that race-based affirmative action in college applications was unconstitutional.
Maryland banned all legacy admissions this year, while Virginia and Illinois did the same for public colleges and universities. Colorado also targeted public institutions by imposing its own ban three years ago.
Although California law makes bequest and donor admissions illegal, it provides no sanctions for universities that violate it.
An earlier version of the bill, authored by Rep. Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), called for strict penalties that would require colleges to pay amounts matching what they receive in Cal Grant payments. The grant program is the state’s primary tuition subsidy for low-income students and amounts to millions of dollars at many schools.
In an interview before Newsom signed the bill, Ting said it was weaker than he had initially expected. Ting, who is excluded, said he hoped lawmakers would rely on the law in the future.
He also said university officials told him they would be “law-abiding.”
“If we value diversity in higher education, we must level the playing field,” Ting said in a statement Monday. “That means making the college application process more fair and equitable. Hard work, good grades, and a well-rounded experience 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.
Under a 2019 state law that Ting also authored, universities were required to provide an annual report to the state on donor legacies or admissions. The law – which expired in 2023 – was prompted by the Varsity Blues scandal, which exposed paid admissions for the children of celebrities and other wealthy Americans to elite US schools.
The new law takes effect September 1, 2025, and requires universities to file their first annual report with the state Legislature and the Department of Justice by June 30, 2026, indicating whether they have followed the law or violated it. The Attorney General’s Office will then have the opportunity to file charges against the offenders.
In 2023, USC reported offering admission to 1,791 undergraduate applicants who were parents of donors or alumni, or about 14.5% of admitted students. At Stanford, that number was 295, which represented about 13.6 percent of admitted students.
At Santa Clara University, there were 38. Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd colleges each reported offering admission to 15 students with legacy or donor ties.
Each of the five institutions reported that admitted students met their admissions standards.
Dozens of other private universities that submitted information to the Assn. of California Independent Colleges and Universities, which sends its data to Sacramento, connections reported by alumni or donors were not considered in any of their candidate evaluations.
