Enacts the "fair college admissions act"; prohibits legacy and early admissions policies at colleges and universities in New York; declares such policies and practices to be discriminatory and inequitable.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1423A
SPONSOR: Walker (MS) 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, set penalties, and earmark penalty funds.
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 admittance policies such as legacy preference. 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 like-
ly to be accepted into a prestigious institution 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 colleg-
es-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 own application, or review
the answers to such a question on the Common App. Institutions found by
the NYS Education Department to be in violation of this prohibition face
a penalty of 10% of the prior year's number of full-time equivalent
first-year students times tuition and fees, and penalty money collected
by NYSED would then be distributed as TAP awards, which help subsidize
tuition for students earning $80,000 or less.
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 direct correlation
between income mobility and a college degree is well-known, with New
York State residents with a bachelor's degree 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 legacy - and bills such as this are a critical first step in that
direction.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: S8498 - Referred to Higher Education
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1423--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WALKER, RIVERA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
SIMON, TAYLOR -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher
Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting legacy
admission policies at higher education institutions in this state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act may be known and shall be cited as
2 the "fair college admissions act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. a. The legislature hereby finds that there
4 are significant income gains associated with postsecondary education
5 degree attainment, with New York state residents with a bachelor's
6 degree three times less likely to live in poverty than those with a high
7 school diploma.
8 b. The legislature further finds that students who attend and graduate
9 from a highly selective higher education institution in the state of New
10 York are much more likely to earn salaries in the top income quintile
11 than those who graduate from less selective institutions, furthering
12 economic and social inequality.
13 c. The legislature further finds that within most highly selective
14 higher education institutions in New York state, degree completion rates
15 for students from low-income and working class family backgrounds are
16 comparable to students from upper-income family backgrounds.
17 d. The legislature further finds that many four-year higher education
18 institutions in New York state consider whether a prospective student is
19 related to alumni as part of the admissions process.
20 e. The legislature further finds that providing preferential treatment
21 to students related to alumni of a higher education institution is
22 discriminatory in nature and disproportionately hurts students who come
23 from working class and low-income families, have parents who did not
24 earn a bachelor's degree, are undocumented, are immigrants, and are
25 members of historically underrepresented minority groups formerly denied
26 entry into specific higher education institutions either as a matter of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03099-03-3
A. 1423--A 2
1 institution policy or the effect of historic underlying law and govern-
2 ment practices.
3 f. The legislature further finds that inequitable, unfair admissions
4 policies and practices such as legacy consideration are a significant
5 factor behind disparities in college enrollment among students from
6 historically underserved racial and economic subgroups compared to their
7 more advantaged peers at selective higher education institutions.
8 g. The legislature hereby declares that a prohibition on legacy admis-
9 sion policies at degree-granting colleges and universities in the state
10 shall further the goals of educational, economic, and social equity,
11 helping to diversify highly selective institutions while closing
12 achievement gaps between historically advantaged and disadvantaged
13 groups, and shall commit to achieving the same with the following
14 provisions of this act.
15 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 239-c to
16 read as follows:
17 § 239-c. Prohibition on legacy admission policies. 1. Definitions. As
18 used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
19 ings:
20 (a) "Consider alumni/ae relation as a factor in admissions" shall
21 refer to when an admissions application asks applicants to indicate
22 where their relatives attended college and that such information is
23 included among the documents that the higher education institution uses
24 to consider an applicant for admission.
25 (b) "Higher education institution" shall mean the state university of
26 New York, as defined in subdivision one of section three hundred fifty-
27 two of this chapter, the city university of New York, as established in
28 section sixty-two hundred three of this chapter, or any institution
29 given the power to confer degrees in this state by the board of regents
30 as provided in section two hundred eighteen of this article.
31 2. Prohibition. No higher education institution in this state shall
32 consider alumni/ae relation as a factor in admissions. Such prohibition
33 shall not apply, however, to a higher education institution that asks
34 applicants about relations to alumni/ae of such institution after an
35 offer of admission and financial aid has been accepted for the purposes
36 of data collection and reporting.
37 3. Penalty. A violation of subdivision two of this section shall
38 result in a civil penalty of a sum equivalent to ten percent of the
39 number of full-time equivalent first year students enrolled at the high-
40 er educational institution the year previous to the violation multiplied
41 by such institution's published tuition and fees.
42 4. Dedication of penalty funds. All penalties paid pursuant to subdi-
43 vision three of this section shall be assessed by the commissioner and
44 deposited into the general fund of the state. Such monies shall then be
45 used for the disbursement of tuition assistance awards by the higher
46 education services corporation to eligible undergraduate students pursu-
47 ant to the provisions of sections six hundred sixty-six, six hundred
48 sixty-seven, six hundred sixty-seven-a, and six hundred sixty seven-c of
49 this chapter.
50 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
51 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the
52 addition, amendment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
53 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
54 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
