A bipartisan Senate push to ban legacy admissions reintroduced the Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act, aiming to tie accreditation to admissions practices that do not favor applicants based on alumni or donor relationships. The legislation would define preferential treatment as cases where an applicant’s connection becomes the determinative factor in admissions decisions or related educational benefits. Sponsors—including Republicans Todd Young, Tim Scott, and John Kennedy, and Democrats Tim Kaine, Raphael Warnock, and Andy Kim—frame the proposal as an admissions fairness measure in the post-race-conscious era of enforcement. They also position the bill as consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions by focusing on institutional admissions policy transparency. The bill would not prohibit consideration of “demonstrated interest,” but it would require criteria to be clearly defined and public, and available to all applicants. It includes provisions intended to protect religious colleges’ ability to align admissions decisions with institutional faith-based values. The Merit Act reopens debate about whether legacy preferences should be treated as a compliance and accreditation issue, rather than left to institutional discretion.