SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California lawmaker said he will introduce a bill Monday that would give admissions priority to descendants of slaves at the University of California and California State University, the state’s two huge public university systems .
Rep. Isaac Bryan, a Democrat who represents parts of Los Angeles, told the Associated Press he would introduce the bill as lawmakers meet at the Capitol to swear in up-to-date members for a up-to-date legislative session. They will also call a special session to consider ways to protect the state’s progressive policies from another Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump’s up-to-date administration is expected to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Across the U.S., a conservative movement to limit DEI initiatives has gained momentum in state capitals and college boards, and officials in many states are taking action.
The movement gained momentum last year after the Supreme Court ruled to strike down affirmative action at universities, creating a up-to-date legal landscape around diversity programs in the workplace and civil society.
But the rise of DEI as a political buzzword also has its roots on campuses, where Republican opponents say the programs are discriminatory and promote left-wing ideology. Trump has hinted at possible legislation that could fine universities for diversity initiatives.
At the same time, legacy admissions, long seen as a benefit for white and wealthy people at selective colleges, have come under fire in recent years after the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action. Critics say that by banning affirmative action but allowing legacy preferences that favor the children of alumni and donors, the court has made admissions even more biased in favor of students of color.
“For decades, universities gave preferential admissions treatment to donors and their family members while ignoring and sometimes outright excluding others dealing with legacies of harm,” Bryan told the AP. “We have a moral responsibility to do everything we can to right this wrong.”
Bryan said he hopes to see approval of the measure, which is consistent with recommendations developed by members of the California Black Reparations Task Force.
“There is a growing understanding of California’s role in perpetuating the inequalities created by slavery, and there is a willingness to try to repair that harm, to heal that harm,” he said.
According to the latest reports from university systems, Black students made up about 4% of the student body at California State University and about 4.7% at the University of California in 2023.
The proposal follows state-level reparations efforts that have had mixed results. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation in September to formally apologize for the state’s legacy of racism and discrimination against Black residents.
But state lawmakers blocked a bill that would have created an agency to administer reparations programs, and Newsom vetoed a proposal that would have helped Black families reclaim property wrongly seized by the government through eminent domain had been.
Earlier this month, California voters also rejected a ballot measure that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced prison labor, rejecting another proposal championed by Bryan and other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus.
The purpose of the measure is to eliminate past and current discrimination at universities, Bryan said.
“When people think about reparations, they only think about cash payments. But repairing the harm and inequality caused by slavery and the policies that followed is a much larger process,” he said.
Bryan said he also proposed the measure, which would have to go through a months-long legislative approval process, partly in response to Trump’s recent comments about paying “reparations” to white students who he said were affected by diversity, equity and inclusion programs .
States like Kansas and Iowa have passed laws banning DEI offices and initiatives in higher education, and Republican lawmakers in about two dozen states have introduced at least 50 bills to restrict DEI programs in the past year.
Trump’s up-to-date deputy director for policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller, who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged companies’ DEI policies.
Trump, who has vowed to rid America’s schools of perceived “wokeness,” also has plans to cut funding to schools on his first day in office that contradict him on a variety of issues, although even some of his supporters say that it lacks the authority to make such rapid and sweeping changes.
Trump has heaped contempt on the Federal Education Department, calling it infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.” He appointed Linda McMahon, a former wrestling manager, to head the department.
But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has called for the department to be dismantled entirely, an arduous task that would likely require congressional action.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.
