Virginia is on track to remove legacy favors at public colleges, which favor children of alumni who apply.

The House of Delegates unanimously passed a bill to eliminate preferences on Tuesday, and the Senate did likewise last week.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office said he would approve the bill because he “believes admission to Virginia’s universities and colleges should be based on merit.” The measure would take effect on July 1, after fall 2024 admissions choices.

The prohibition, which would affect two of the nation's most elite public universities, the University of Virginia and William & Mary, is another sign that legacy admissions, which favor white, wealthy, and well-connected students, are losing favor. Last year, Virginia Tech, another prominent public university, stopped considering legacy status.

After the Supreme Court barred race-conscious admissions last year, legacy admissions were targeted. President Biden stated that legacy preferences increase “privilege instead of opportunity.”

Wesleyan University and other highly selective private institutions eliminated legacy preferences after the June Supreme Court decision. New York University will delete a checkbox on its application inquiring if applicants are legacies.

M.I.T., Johns Hopkins, Amherst College, and the University of California system were among the selective universities that had abandoned legacy advantages.

Congress, Connecticut, and New York have introduced legislation banning legacy favors in public universities, as has Colorado.

However, Harvard, Yale, and Brown still favor alumni children. The Department of Education reported that approximately 600 schools and institutions consider legacy status in admission.

Harvard and Penn are under a federal Department of Education inquiry for civil rights violations in their legacy preference use. Three advocacy groups complained to Harvard, starting the probe.

Virginia's law, which needs further legislative work before the governor signs it, would likewise restrict “donor status” in state institution admissions. Wealthy parents or relatives could gain entrance for their children by donating to new buildings or programs.

The Virginia House Democrat who sponsored the bill, Dan Helmer, said it was time to level the playing field.

Mr. Helmer observed a bipartisan preference in Virginia for prioritizing individual merit over legacy status in university admissions.

Mr. Helmer, a West Point alumnus, said none of the state's institutions had publicly opposed the law, but they may have campaigned discreetly.

The University of Virginia, where legacy admissions can make up 14% of an entering class, recently removed a legacy status checkbox from its admissions application but allowed students to indicate their legacy status in their essays.

On Tuesday, University of Virginia spokesman Brian T. Coy said the university does not comment on pending legislation. He stated, “For decades, U.Va. has evaluated each undergraduate candidate as an individual with a unique story and a combination of strengths,” rather than using weighted techniques and checkboxes.

The Virginia conservative alumni group Jefferson Council has not taken a position on the proposal, according to its executive director, James A. Bacon.

“We are of two minds,” Mr. Bacon emailed. He noted that intergenerational families are more devoted, active, and given to the university. He wrote, “On the other hand, we support purely merit-based admissions.”

Will and Mary consider legacy admissions. The institution stated it would discuss the bill's effects after its passage. Suzanne Clavet, a university spokeswoman, claimed the school's data revealed that legacies were more than twice as likely to enroll as other accepted applicants.