ERN Applauds Fair College Admissions for Students Act
“It’s long past time for the legacy preference to be sent to the dustbin of history ”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 2, 2022) — Education Reform Now Vice President of Higher Education and Strategic Initiatives Michael Dannenberg, who led the last major federal effort to ban the legacy preference as senior staffer to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), released the following statement today praising the Fair College Admissions for Students Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman.
“ERN is proud to have worked with Sen. Merkley and Rep. Bowman in introducing national legislation directed at ending the legacy preference in college admissions. Our staff was behind the first ever state law passed in Colorado last year doing the same.
The legacy preference undermines diversity, fails to reward true achievement, and is profoundly un-American. The way to make admissions fairer and more accessible isn’t to perpetuate privilege among a few, but to stop inequitable admissions policies entirely.
If institutions of higher education won’t act on their own, then Congress, states, municipalities, and corporate and philanthropic donors should impose financial repercussions for colleges and universities who willfully choose to perpetuate inequity.”
You can learn more about the legacy preference here.
About Education Reform Now
Education Reform Now (ERN) is a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank and advocacy organization that promotes increased resources and innovative reforms in K-16 public education, particularly for students of color and students from low-income families. We seek forward progress in public education—at the federal, state, and local level—developing and advocating for new, bold ideas and mutually reinforcing policies in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.
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