A new law banning legacy and donor admissions at private California universities, including USC and Stanford — among the handful of schools that admit a significant number of children of alumni or donors — was signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said the action will promote equal educational opportunities.
“In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work,” Newsom said in a statement. “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.”
The law affects a small number of private institutions in the state that consider family connections in admissions. Others that currently embrace the practice include Santa Clara, Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd colleges.
California State University and the University California do not give preference in admissions to children of alumni or donors. Some private colleges, including Pomona and Occidental, have discontinued the tradition in recent years.
The issue of preferential admission treatment based on family status and wealth attracted renewed opposition after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that race-based affirmative action in college applications is unconstitutional.
Maryland banned all legacy admissions this year, while Virginia and Illinois did the same for public colleges and universities. Colorado similarly targeted public institutions with its own ban three years ago.
Although the California law makes legacy and donor admissions illegal, it does not specify any punishment for universities that violate it.
An earlier version of the bill, its author being Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), called for strict penalties that would force colleges to pay amounts matching what they receive in Cal Grant payments. The grant program is the state’s main 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 initially planned. Ting, who is termed out, said he hoped lawmakers would build upon the law in the future.
He also said that 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 background 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 for which Ting also was author, universities were required to provide an annual report to the state on legacy or donor admissions. The law — which expired in 2023 — was prompted by the Varsity Blues scandal, which revealed pay-for-play admissions for children of celebrities and other wealthy Americans at elite U.S. schools.
The new law takes effect Sept. 1, 2025, and requires universities to file their first annual report to the state Legislature and Department of Justice by June 30, 2026, indicating whether they have followed the law or broken it. The attorney general’s office then will have the option of pursuing charges against violators.
In 2023, USC said it offered admission to 1,791 undergraduate applicants who were relatives of donors or alumni, or about 14.5% of admitted students. At Stanford, the number was 295, which represented about 13.6% of admitted students.
At Santa Clara University, it was 38. Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd colleges each reported offering admission to 15 students who had legacy or donor connections.
Each of the five institutions said that admitted students met their admissions standards.
Dozens of other private universities that submitted information to the Assn. of Independent California Colleges and Universities, which sends its data to Sacramento, reported alumni or donors ties were not considered in any of their applicant evaluations.