Calif. Democrats advance measure to allow race-based preferences in financial aid
Posted on March 20, 2026
By Ethan Savka - Hillsdale College
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GOP, conservative watchdogs sound alarm on new effort to circumvent California’s longstanding ban on affirmative action
Although the California constitution forbids racial preferences, and Golden State voters have twice decided to uphold that ban, Democrat lawmakers are working to carve out exceptions to that law.
A proposed constitutional amendment making its way through the Sacramento statehouse would allow race-based preferences to be considered for financial aid decisions in education, prompting Republican and conservative watchdogs to sound the alarm.
“By narrowing the ban on discrimination to only ‘higher education enrollment,’ ACA-7 leaves all other aspects of the educational experience vulnerable to preferential treatment. This could include student grants, specialized programs, and even classroom resources,” Tony Guan, a civil rights activist in California, posted on X on March 18.
Maimon Schwarzschild, a constitutional law professor at the University of San Diego, told The College Fix the proposal runs afoul of Students for Fair Admissions, the 2023 Supreme Court decision that banned affirmative action.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/calif-democrats-advance-measure-to-allow-race-based-preferences-in-financial-aid/
