An Act To Prohibit The Consideration Of Legacy Preferences Or Donor Preferences In Postsecondary Educational Institution Admissions

LD 1285 prohibits Maine's public and private postsecondary educational institutions from considering "legacy preferences" (favoring applicants based on family members who graduated) or "donor preferences" (favoring applicants based on family donations) during admissions decisions. The bill directly affects all Maine colleges and universities, banning these specific practices in their admission processes. It allows institutions to still ask about family relationships for data collection purposes and to consider applicants' personal experiences related to such connections in their essays. This law creates a clear policy change by removing two common admissions factors while preserving limited data-gathering and personal narrative elements.