BILL NUMBER: S2237
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting legacy
admission policies at higher education institutions in this state
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit legacy admissions policies at undergraduate institutions.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill provides that this act shall be known as the
"Fair College Admissions Act."
Section two declares legislative intent.
Section three adds a new section 239-c to the Education Law to ban lega-
cy admissions and set penalties after an opportunity for a hearing.
Section four provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Much has been written about the financial barriers low-income students
face when applying to college, particularly in regards to the most elite
institutions our nation and state have to offer. Perhaps equally impor-
tant, however, are the structural barriers they face in the form of
regressive college admissions policies such as legacy admissions. Legacy
admissions have the effect of excluding access to these institutions for
our state's lowest-income students who are disproportionately likely to
be first-generation college students.
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 institu-
tion than a non-legacy student with a similar academic background,
according to a 2010 study. 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. The data show virtually no elite
college legacy students are low-income.
This bill would improve access to our state's highest-performing
colleges and universities by banning legacy admissions outright. This
bill would specifically bar colleges from asking about and considering
where an applicant's parents attended school, meaning they would not be
allowed to include such a question on their admissions applications. To
the extent that this question is self-reported on the Common App that a
college uses, the college will need to redact this information from a
student's file before reviewing it, in much the same way that they need
to suppress data on race and ethnicity in order to comply with the ban
on affirmative action established in Students for Fair Admissions v.
Harvard (2023). Enforcement could be conducted through the New York
State Education Department (NYSED)'s Office of College and University
Evaluation, which already has oversight over institutions of higher
education by registering their individual programs of study. Insti-
tutions found by NYSED after a hearing to be engaging in a pattern or
practice of violation would face a penalty $50,000 for a pattern or
practice of violations.
As the debate around college affordability and access continues to roil
our nation and state, a commonsense repeal of these regressive policies
will help level the playing field for all hoping to attend our state's
most celebrated and prestigious institutions. The correlation between
income mobility and a college degree is well-established, as New York
State residents with a bachelor's degree are three times less likely to
live in poverty than those with a high school diploma. Additionally,
students who attend and graduate from a highly selective college in New
York are significantly more likely to earn salaries in the top income
quintile. This coupled with the fact that degree completion rates for
low-income students at these institutions is comparable to that of
students from wealthier backgrounds makes the clear case for a more open
and inclusive college admissions policies that favors academic perform-
ance over family history or generational wealth. The legislature has a
pivotal role to play in ensuring that the opportunities afforded by
these institutions are open to all, regardless of race, income, or fami-
ly heritage - and banning legacy admissions is a critical first step in
that direction.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S4170B - Referred to Higher Education
2023: S4170A - Referred to Higher Education
2022: S8498 - Referred to Higher Education
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date
on which it shall have become a law.