NY Democrats push bill to end legacy admissions that aid 'wealthy, predominately-white families'

The New York state legislature is considering enacting the Fair College Admissions Act, which would outlaw legacy admissions at the Empire State’s colleges and universities.

Democrat state politicians argue that the practice of considering legacy status is prevalent at New York’s schools, which negatively impacts educational opportunities for students from lower-income families. 

“Legacy admissions, in which colleges consider familial relationship to existing alumni in their decisions, have resulted in legacy students being three times more likely to be accepted into a prestigious institution than a non-legacy student with a similar academic background, according to a 2010 study,” the bill reads. 

[RELATED: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs bill banning legacy admissions in state’s public universities]

“Virtually all top 100 private colleges and universities nationwide have express alumni preference policies, with legacies typically composing between 10 and 15 percent of a freshman class, and there have been more white students admitted to top ten universities benefitting from legacy preference than students of color admitted under affirmative action,” it argues.

The bill’s sponsors compare legacy admissions to affirmative action policies, which the Supreme Court struck down last June.

“For years and years—decades—colleges have given the family members of alumni an advantage, a leg up, the inside track, when they apply for admissions,” Andrew Gounardes, a Democrat state senator who introduced the bill last February, said during a rally in May. “These legacy admissions favor wealthy, predominately-white families, leading to what we like to call ‘affirmative action for the privileged.’”

In particular, the act would prohibit colleges and universities from asking prospective students to indicate where their relatives attended college on their application. Institutions that fail to comply would be assessed a fine equivalent to 10% of their annual tuition revenues.

[RELATED: Ohio University halts race-based scholarships to comply with SCOTUS affirmative action ruling]

”It struck us as inherently wrong and unfair that the Supreme Court would strike down affirmative action policies and programs but allow something like legacy admissions to stay put, which is affirmative action just for another group of people,” Gounardes said in an interview with ABC News.

Campus Reform has reached out to Andrew Gounardes and other members of the New York legislature, as well as the New York Civil Liberties Union for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.