California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill Monday that bans the state's public and private universities from using “legacy” preferential treatment programs or preferential treatment of donor children in admissions selection.
The bill is AB1780“From September 1, 2025, an independent higher education institution, as defined, may offer traditional or donor incentives in admissions to applicants as part of the regular or early admissions process. The law requires universities to submit annual reports on their compliance.
Curiously, there are no penalties for violations other than being listed as a violation.
CalMatters.org reported:
state joins A rare group of 4 others Passed a law banning legacy admission. Universities will be allowed to admit students with ties to alumni or donors, but will no longer be able to give those applicants preferential treatment in the admissions process.
“In California, everyone should be able to advance through achievement, skill and hard work,” Newsom said. wrote in a press statement. “The California Dream should not be accessible only to a lucky few, which is why we are opening the doors to higher education equitably and wide enough for all. .”
The new law is a response to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that banned the use of race in college admissions. Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard University President and Fellows and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
The use of race had already been outlawed by California's Proposition 209 in 1996, but it was reaffirmed by voters in 2020, leading to the defeat of Proposition 16 and the repeal of Proposition 209.
As a result, CalMatters.org notes that the new law “will only impact a small number of California campuses” due to the fact that the state's public universities do not employ traditional admissions systems anyway. I am doing it.
As with many other laws Mr. Newsom signed, such as the recent apology for slavery (despite California joining the Union as a free state), its goal is clear that California's Democratic Party It is about setting an example that we hope other regions will follow.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
