The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that would bar admissions offices from giving special treatment to children of alumni and donors when they apply to the state’s public universities, sending the measure to Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s (R-VA) desk.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, passed the state Senate last week, and companion legislation in the state House sponsored by Democratic state Del. Dan Helmer, passed on Tuesday.
VanValkenburg said in an interview with VPM News that the legislature began discussing the factors colleges consider when making admission decisions after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that affirmation action, or considering race, cannot be a part of admissions decisions.
“I think what folks realized — including myself — was how big [of] a piece legacy admission was to this process,” VanValkenburg said. “And I think a lot of people realized how wrong that was.”
Some Virginia universities have already taken steps to reduce alumni and donor influence over admissions. At Virginia Tech, university leaders announced in August they were ending legacy admissions. The college would no longer favor children of alumni and discontinue the option for applicants to apply under early decision.
A fall 2022 report from Education Reform Now found that most Virginia public universities gave at least some preferential treatment to legacy students during the time of the study.
The University of Virginia, for example, allows consideration of legacy status through an optional essay question added in 2023. However, spokeswoman Bethanie Glover said “no portion of the application is ranked or weighted, nor do application readers have access to a check box for ‘legacy.’”
“We take into consideration each applicant’s unique story and journey, and offer admission to those who will thrive here and contribute positively to the experience of those around them,” Glover said.
Colorado is reportedly the only state to have passed legislation ending legacy preferential consideration, but other states, such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, are also considering similar measures.
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“If there’s special privilege … that shouldn’t afford someone a cut in line because of the family’s donor status, or legacy status if your parents went there,” Democratic state Sen. Jeremy McPike, who has also sponsored legislation similar to VanValkenburg’s and Helmer’s, said.
“The reality is that in too many colleges across America, we use legacy admissions in order to give folks a leg up not because of what they’ve done, but because of who their parents are,” Helmer added.