SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Outraged by widespread allegations of cheating in the college admissions process, California lawmakers Thursday proposed a sweeping package of bills aimed at closing loopholes officials say gave the children of wealthy parents a side door into elite universities.
The six measures would bar special admissions without approval of three college administrators, regulate private admission consultants, audit the University of California's admissions process and eliminate tax deductions for donations to nonprofit entities that were allegedly made as part of the cheating scandal.
Another bill, by Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat, would prohibit preferential admissions to applicants related to the institution's donors or alumni, or risk getting cut off from the Cal Grant financial aid program.
"This is about fairness and equity," Ting said. "We must close the side door that enables privileged families to get their children into elite colleges, taking the place of deserving students."
The bills are in response to the Operation Varsity Blues investigation in which federal prosecutors have charged 50 people with being part of a scam in which well-connected parents allegedly paid large bribes to buy their sons and daughters seats in elite universities or high scores on admission exams.
Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among the wealthy parents charged with participating in a scheme orchestrated by Newport Beach businessman William "Rick" Singer.
Others facing criminal charges include coaches at the University of Southern California, Stanford, UCLA and other top-tier colleges.
The legislation proposed Thursday includes a measure by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, a Sacramento Democrat, that would bar any special admission, also known as "admission by exception," to a California public college or university unless it has been approved by at least three college administrators, which could include the chancellor or president of the institution.
"For every student admitted through bribery, there was an honest and talented student that was rejected," McCarty said in a statement. "This legislative package of college admissions reforms will ensure that there are adequate checks and balances to catch fraudsters, but more importantly to protect the sanctity of the admissions process."
Another bill, by Assemblyman Evan Low, a Campbell Democrat, would require college admission firms like Singer's to register with the secretary of state's office and be included in an annual public registry.
"The recent admissions scandal has revealed the utter lack of oversight involved in an industry where bad actors have been able to thrive," Low said, "This bill will finally put a check on bad actors while still allowing legitimate firms to stay in business under state regulations and guidelines."
Ting said the scandal also shed light on legal ways wealthy parents can influence the college admissions process.
He cited the 2018 Survey of College and University Admissions Directors that found that 42 percent of admissions directors at private institutions say that legacy status is a factor in admissions at their institutions, with only 32 percent believing it is an appropriate consideration.
In addition, Ting said 65 percent of high school counselors say that their students with legacy status appear to have much better chances of admission than others applying to competitive colleges.
Another measure proposed Thursday by McCarty would examine the possible phasing out of some testing used in admissions decisions. The resolution would request the trustees of the California State University and the regents of the University of California to conduct a study on the effectiveness, usefulness and need of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, SAT, and the ACT in student admissions to their respective systems.
The review would include a look at issues including test bias, testing fatigue and anxiety, outcome gaps between ethnic and income groups, and the use of multiple measures to determine eligibility instead such as AP test results, McCarty said.
