S 6597 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Prohibits legacy preference as eligible criteria for admission standards

This bill prohibits degree-granting colleges and universities in the state from considering an applicant's family connection to a graduate when making admission decisions. It directly affects all public and private higher education institutions that admit students. The key provision bans using "legacy preference" (favoring applicants with family members who graduated) as a factor in admission standards, though institutions may still ask about family graduation history after an admission offer is accepted for data collection purposes. The law takes effect on July 1st following its enactment.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Mar 18, 2025 Last action Jan 7, 2026
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Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
2
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
upper
Mar 18, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

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