Washington DC - As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that could overturn affirmative action in higher education, two progressive lawmakers are taking a different approach to the college admissions process.

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman joined forces to introduce the Fair College Admissions for Students Act on Wednesday.

The bill would ban legacy admissions that give preferential treatment to the children of alumni or donors, who reportedly account for 10-25% of available spots at top universities.

"Legacy admissions overwhelmingly benefit wealthy and well-connected students – who are predominantly white – at a time when access to higher education for Black and Latino and Latina students is under attack," according to a press release from Merkley's office.

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The current system has "reduc[ed] the opportunities for the descendants of enslaved African Americans who built and maintained many of these institutions and other underrepresented students," the statement continued.

In his own statement, Bowman, a former middle school principal, echoed, "The legacy admissions practice which disproportionately benefits rich, white, and connected students, and has antisemitic and anti-immigrant roots, creates another systemic barrier to accessing higher education for low-income students, students of color, and first-generation students."

The two Democratic lawmakers hope their bill will expand access to higher education for minority students even as the Supreme Court appears poised to restrict it. The court announced at the end of January that it would hear a challenge to affirmative action, which has provided educational opportunities to many Black, Hispanic, and indigenous students from historically underserved communities.

Bowman and Merkley's bill isn't likely to advance very far, but it could be an important conversation starter on the issue.