California Bans Legacy Preferences in College Admissions

California’s law, which takes effect September 1, 2025, is the fifth legacy admissions ban in the country, but only the second that will apply to private colleges. . . .

Like other states, California will not financially penalize violators, but it will publish the names of violators on the state Department of Justice website.

California will also add to the data reporting requirements it implemented in 2022, when private colleges had to begin sharing the percentage of admitted students tied to donors and alumni. Schools that violate the new law will also have to report more granular demographic information to the state about their incoming classes, including the race and income of enrolled students as well as their participation in athletics. . . .

California’s public universities will not be affected by this change. California State University does not consider inheritance or donor ties, and the University of California system stopped doing so in 1998, two years after California voters banned admissions on racial grounds through a statewide ballot.