RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Virginia is expected to ban public universities from favoring family of alumni or donors in their admissions process.
Legislation to end legacy admissions will likely soon be on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk after bills sailed out of both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly on unanimous votes. Youngkin’s office signaled that the governor backs the proposal.
“The Governor will review any legislation that comes to his desk but believes admission to Virginia’s universities and colleges should be based on merit,” Youngkin spokesperson Christian Martinez said in a statement.
Calls to end legacy admissions grew after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in admissions earlier last year. Schools, including Virginia Tech, have already ended legacy admissions.
Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax) and state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico) proposed bills in their respective chambers to stop public universities and colleges from giving preferential treatment to applicants who are related to alumni or donors of the school.
Sen. VanValkenburg cited the ruling while presenting his bill to a Virginia Senate’s higher education during a meeting on Jan. 15.
“After that decision, I think a lot of discussion about what gets kids into college arose and I think people realized how much of a factor legacy plays in students coming into schools,” he said.
VanValkenburg pointed to a study that found children from the richest 1% of the country’s families are more than twice as likely to attend elite private colleges than “those from middle-class families with comparable SAT/ACT scores” and 46% of admissions boost “comes from preferential admission for students whose parents attended the same college.”
The push to end legacy admissions has received Republican support, including public backing from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares before the start of the 2024 legislative session.
There’s also a bipartisan effort on the federal level led by U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
More than 100 colleges and universities have ended legacy admissions since 2015, per a report from the nonprofit Education Reform Now, but 787 still used the practice in 2020.
Before the legislation gets to Youngkin’s desk, the identical bills must go through the other chamber.
