California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1780, which prohibits legacy and donor preferences in the admissions decisions of the state’s private, nonprofit institutions. The prohibition goes into effect in September of 2025.
“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,” said Newsom in a release by his office.
With Newsom’s signature of the bill, California becomes the fifth state to enact some type of ban against colleges giving an advantage to the relatives of alumni or institutional donors and the second state to do so for private institutions. In August, Illinois became the fourth state to pass a legacy admission prohibition, following Maryland, which enacted a legacy admission ban in April that applies to both public and private colleges. Colorado passed its ban in 2021, and Virginia did so earlier this year.
Introduced by California Assemblymember Phil Ting, the bill went through significant revisions from earlier versions. Originally, it would have prohibited the state’s universities from receiving funds through the Cal Grant student financial aid program if they gave preferential admissions treatment to applicants who had donor or alumni connections. That provision was later amended so that a school that extended a legacy or donor preference would have faced a civil fine equal to the amount of Cal Grants it received in the prior year.
But that penalty was removed from the bill as well before its final passage. Now an institution that violates the ban is required to report annually to the Legislature and the California Department of Justice whether it is in compliance or violation of the bill’s provisions, and if in violation, to also report, for that academic year, the admission rates of students receiving a legacy or donor “bump” compared to the remainder of the student body. They would also be required to report on the racial, geographic and financial diversity of admitted students, in addition to their athletic status.