Senators Introduce MERIT Act To End Legacy Admissions At Accredited Colleges

A bipartisan group of six senators has introduced the Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act (MERIT Act), which would use college accreditation as the lever to end admissions preferences for the children of alumni and donors.

Sponsors are Todd Young (R-Ind.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.).

This is the second time this bill has been floated in an effort to end legacy admissions.

Why it matters: Accreditation is what makes a college eligible for federal student aid. Routing a legacy ban through accreditation standards reaches private colleges that state laws mostly can’t touch. Of the roughly 420 four-year institutions that still weigh legacy status, 85% are private, according to Education Reform Now (PDF File).

How This Bill Would Wrk

The bill amends Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add an accreditation standard requiring colleges to adopt admissions practices that refrain from preferential treatment based on an applicant’s relationship to alumni or donors.

• “Preferential treatment” is defined narrowly. It applies only when that relationship is the “determinative factor” in an admissions decision or in awarding tangible education benefits.
• Colleges could still weigh demonstrated interest, as long as the criteria are publicly available, applicants get a chance to explain their interest, and the opportunities are equally accessible regardless of financial resources or alumni ties.
• Religious colleges keep the ability to make admissions decisions consistent with their faith-based values.
• The Education Secretary would report to the Senate HELP Committee and the House Education and Workforce Committee within 180 days of the related rulemaking, then every two years, with each report made public.
• Within two years, the Department would study whether the National Student Clearinghouse could collect institution-level data on legacy and donor admissions, while explicitly barring a national database of personally identifiable information.

By The Numbers

Legacy preferences fell from 49% of four-year colleges in 2015 to 24% in 2025, per Education Reform Now’s January 2025 report. That’s 452 colleges dropping the practice, and 86% of them did it voluntarily rather than under a state mandate.

Only 11% of public colleges still use legacy preferences, versus 30% of private ones, and more than half of the wealthiest, most selective schools still do.

Five states have already acted (Colorado in 2021, then Illinois, Maryland, and Virginia in 2024). California’s AB 1780 took effect in September 2025 and covers private colleges as well as public ones, though enforcement is limited to annual reporting and a public list of violators, with no fines. Stanford has reportedly chosen to forgo state funding rather than change its policy.

California has been the most active state on admissions rules generally, having also made CSU admission automatic for qualifying students.

How This Connects

Legacy status is one of the admissions factors families never see on a checklist. It rarely decides an application on its own, but it moves borderline cases and signals a higher chance the student will actually enroll. That’s exactly the soft weighting the MERIT Act’s “determinative factor” standard would leave intact.

The stakes sit downstream: the class of 2026 is projected to borrow $43,500 for a bachelor’s degree, so a seat at a well-funded school with strong aid is worth real money to a family. Our full college admissions coverage tracks how these rules keep shifting.

Young first introduced the MERIT Act in 2023 and it stalled. This version goes to the Senate HELP Committee, where Kaine is a member. Six sponsors split evenly between the parties is a stronger start than the last attempt, but no floor time has been scheduled, and the bill would still have to clear the House.

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