California bans legacy admissions at private colleges and universities, ensuring that some of the country's most selective schools do not favor applicants with family or financial ties to the schools.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed legislation AB 1780, which bans bequests and donor preferences in admissions to private, nonprofit institutions. The new regulation will come into force in autumn 2025. Schools like Stanford University, the University of Southern California and Santa Clara University will now join the California State University system and other public institutions in the state that have long banned legacy preferences.

“In California, everyone should be able to advance through merit, skill and hard work,” Newsom said in a news release announcing the decision. “The California dream shouldn’t be available to just a lucky few, which is why we’re opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone and fairly.”

The news comes more than a year after the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions programs at the University of North Carolina and Harvard, severely restricting colleges and universities from considering race in admissions.

Rep. Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill, has been calling for an end to it since the 2019 college admissions scandal, in which dozens of people, including Hollywood actors, were involved in cheating on the college entrance exam old entrance exams in the state scheme. He attributed the passage of AB 1780 to the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action.

“It’s all about fairness,” Ting said in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday. “You want people to work hard and get access to education because they have worked hard and are truly the most qualified students, not because they have wealthy parents or wealthy families who are donors. This is about making sure we level the playing field.”

The law affects schools with the highest legacy admission rates – Stanford, USC and Santa Clara. According to Ting's statement, legacy admissions accounted for about 14 percent of enrollment at Stanford and USC in 2022 and about 13 percent at Santa Clara.

The law requires all private colleges and universities in the state to disclose compliance with the new rule by submitting an annual report. Stanford officials told NBC News that the university “will continue to review its admissions policies” before the new legislation takes effect.

In a statement to NBC News, USC officials said the university is “always committed to evolving our admissions processes and recruiting efforts to bring as many of these students to USC as possible. We will do so consistent with the law.”

Santa Clara officials said in a statement that the school has “aggressive” outreach and support programs to ensure diversity on campus.

“Santa Clara University is committed to fair and equitable admissions practices in compliance with all state and federal requirements,” the university said in a statement to NBC News.

“Legacy status alone has never been a determining factor in a student’s admission. Factors such as academic quality, leadership, preparedness and resilience in the face of challenges are the most important admissions considerations for students applying.”

The new rule would not be reflected in the new classes until fall 2026. Last month, some of the nation's top schools announced that the Supreme Court's favorable decision had led to a decline in black student enrollment. Amherst College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington University in St. Louis are among at least a half-dozen schools that saw declines in Black student enrollment in the 2024 academic year.