The California State Assembly took the final vote on Aug. 30 to send Assembly Constitutional Amendment 7 (ACA 7) to voters on Nov. 7, 2028. Currently, the state constitution prohibits racial discrimination and preferential treatment in public employment, public education, and public contracting. ACA 7 would narrow the affirmative action ban language so that within public education, it applies only to higher education admissions and enrollment. K-12 education would no longer fall under the ban's prohibition on racial discrimination and race-based preferential treatment.
Proposition 209 was approved in 1996 with 54.5% of the vote. It was an initiative that amended the state constitution to prohibit discrimination against or granting preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, and public contracting.
In 2020, voters rejected Proposition 16, which would have repealed Proposition 209. The state legislature placed it on the ballot. The vote was 42.77% 'Yes' to 57.23% 'No.' The amendment was the only one of four attempts in the state legislature to repeal or narrow the affirmative action ban that made the ballot since 1996, when it was adopted, according to the bill analysis for ACA 7.
The state legislature titled ACA 7 the Closing the Student Opportunity and Achievement Gap Act. The authors of the amendment said, “For too long, the provisions of this law have been subject to broad interpretation, leaving Californians without a clear understanding of its intended application. This measure introduces clarifying language and makes a modest adjustment to focus specifically on ′higher education enrollment.′ These changes will help ensure a more accurate interpretation of the state constitution, allowing its provisions to be implemented as originally intended.”
The Pacific Legal Foundation, which opposes the amendment, said, ″While ACA 7 preserves the prohibition on discrimination in higher education enrollment, it will permit the government to discriminate in all aspects of K-12 education and all other aspects pertaining to colleges and universities. This uneven and inconsistent preservation of equality and opportunity fails to fully live up to the guarantee of the equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard that Harvard and UNC’s admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts said, “Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today.”
ACA 7 was introduced on Feb. 13, 2025. It passed the state Assembly on Feb. 19, 2026, by a vote of 54-14 with 12 absent or not voting. The Senate passed an amended version of ACA 7 on Aug. 27, 2026, by a vote of 30-10. The Assembly concurred with the amendments on Aug. 30 by a vote of 59-19, with one absent. All votes were along party lines, with Democrats supporting the amendment and Republicans opposed.
This is the first measure to be certified for the 2028 ballot in the state. One initiative to create a first-time homebuyer down payment program for California State University staff is pending signature verification for the 2028 ballot.
The state legislature is set to adjourn on Aug. 31.