Postsecondary education: admissions preference: descendants of slavery.

Assembly Member Bryan, joined by a broad coalition of legislative colleagues, has put forward a measure allowing California's higher education institutions to consider an applicant's status as a descendant of slavery during the admissions process. The proposal would apply to the California State University system, the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions.

The bill establishes specific criteria to define eligibility as a descendant of slavery, requiring applicants to demonstrate direct lineage to an individual subjected to American chattel slavery before 1900. Qualifying ancestors must meet at least one of five conditions: emancipation through legal or extralegal means, freedom obtained through abolition laws, classification as a fugitive from bondage, designation as military contraband, or performance of military or civic service while under legal restrictions based on ancestry associated with slavery.

The measure includes explicit provisions requiring that any admissions preferences remain in compliance with federal law. This aligns with existing state constitutional requirements regarding preferential treatment in public education and the framework established by the Donahoe Higher Education Act, which governs California's public and independent higher education segments.