The state of California has just announced that it is banning legacy as a factor in college admission. Legacy admission is the practice of giving additional weight to the applications of sons or daughters, and sometimes extended family members, of an alumnus. The University of California system has not used Legacy in the admission process since 1998, so this new ruling only affects private and non-profit colleges within the state of California. California joins three other states, Colorado, Maryland, and Virginia, in banning legacy admissions.

This new law is designed to reduce wealthy white privilege in college admission, because most people who would benefit from legacy in admission are from affluent white families. The statistics bear this out undeniably. Of course, this follows the Supreme Court ruling in June 2023 that found race-based admissions to be unconstitutional.

The new law goes into effect in September, 2025 and will apply to the incoming class of 2026.