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Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin signed bills Friday prohibiting the state’s public universities from giving preference to legacy applicants in admissions decisions.
The legislation, unanimously approved by both chambers of the General Assembly, holds that public institutions cannot offer an admissions advantage based on a student’s legacy status or “familial relationship to any donor to such institution.”
“There really wasn’t any pushback,” Democratic senator Schuyler T. VanValkenburg, who sponsored the Senate bill, told The Washington Post. “I think colleges know that these practices are indefensible.”
Other states are weighing similar measures. Colorado banned legacy preferences in 2021. The Maryland House of Delegates passed a legacy ban bill last month; now it moves on to the Senate. And Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York are considering legislation that would prohibit legacy preferences at private as well as public institutions.
U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Todd Young, who have sponsored bipartisan legislation to end the practice nationwide, praised the development in Virginia, Kaine’s home state.
“We’re happy to see Virginia make this move,” they said in a statement. “Now let’s build off this success and get our bill passed to end legacy and donor admissions preferences nationwide. This will promote upward mobility and fairness in the admissions process.”
