Some of California’s most well-known private universities may face additional scrutiny related to a long-standing practice of legacy admissions.
A report in the Los Angeles Times indicates Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation to ban the awarding of state funds to schools that give preference to children of donors and alumni.
Ting’s proposal comes after affirmative action, which primarily benefits people of color and was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, leading to an outcry against what many see is its analog for “wealthy white students … legacy admissions,” as noted by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee.
Assembly Bill 1780 would “prohibit colleges and universities from participating in the Cal Grant program if they provide preferential treatment in admissions to an applicant related to a donor or alumni,” the Times notes.
“We want to make sure that every student applying into the most elite schools in our state have an opportunity, that it’s fair, that it’s equitable,” Ting said at a Wednesday press conference, as reported by the Times.
While public schools — like the University of California and California State University systems — do not offer legacy admissions, some private schools do. Locally, USC is a leader in that category, while in the Bay Area, the largest providers of legacy benefits are Stanford and Santa Clara, the Times reports.
Other Southern California institutions, like Occidental College, have done away with legacy admissions.
Santa Clara did not respond to the Times’ questions, while USC and Stanford said they have not taken a position on the legislation.