Lawmakers propose bill to bar preference for 'legacy' applicants at U.S. colleges

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A pair of Democratic lawmakers in Congress have proposed a new law to bar colleges and universities that provide federal loans from giving admission preference to "legacy" or donor candidates, which is common on many campuses.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the Fair College Admissions for Students Act on Wednesday -- a bill aimed at helping minorities achieve equity in the college admissions process.

The lawmakers said the legislation would help students of all backgrounds receive equitable and fair consideration and "manifest a future in which every student regardless of who they are or where they come from has a fair shot."

"The legacy admissions practice which disproportionately benefits rich, white, and connected students, and has antisemitic and anti-immigrant roots, creates another systemic barrier to accessing higher education for low-income students, students of color, and first-generation students," Bowman said in a statement.

"All students deserve an equitable opportunity to gain admission to institutions of higher education, but students whose parents didn't attend or donate to a university are often overlooked in the admissions process due to the historically classist and racist legacy and donor admissions practices at many schools across the country."

"Getting into college can be really tough for people without lots of money, whose parents have never been through the process before, who can't pay for test prep or advisers to help them craft the perfect essay." Merkley added in a statement.

The bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to bar admissions preferences on campuses that participate in federal student aid programs.

It would also grant the education secretary the ability to waive the legacy preference prohibition for an award year for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal College or Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions. To get the waiver, a school must demonstrate that its use of legacy preference is in the best interest of historically underrepresented students.

The American Civil Liberties Union is one of multiple organizations that support the bill.

Carlos Moreno, ACLU senior campaign strategist, said in a statement that the proposal "would help address our country's long history of race discrimination and inequities in education."

Last month, more than a dozen elite schools were sued by former students who said many of the campuses favor the wealthy with their admissions policies and create an unfair advantage for past or potential donors.