January 24, 2022
The Supreme Court is going to weigh in on another controversial topic… Affirmative Action in the college admissions process.
The Supreme Court has decided to take up two separate cases dealing with the long-standing precedent.
What does this mean for your chances or the chances of your kids getting into college?
Well, nothing right now. Any potential change is probably more than a year away. The high court most likely won’t hear these cases until its next term starting in October of 2022. If that’s the case, a decision won’t be expected until the summer of 2023.
So what’s happening?
One of cases in question is being brought against the admissions policies at Harvard and the other is being brought against the University of North Carolina. The plaintiffs in both cases argue using the race of an applicant shouldn’t be considered as a criterion for entering either university. The challengers in the Harvard case say the affirmative action policy has hurt the chances of Asian American applicants. So far, the lower courts hearing those two cases have sided with the Harvard and UNC upholding the universities’ right to consider race as one of many admission factors.
Why is that? Because that’s the supreme court precedent from the 1970’s and affirmed in the early 2000’s. The high court has said multiple times — race can be a consideration for college admissions to enhance campus diversity. Specific racial quotas are not allowed. Advocates say over the last 40 years affirmative action has helped boost admissions chances for some minorities who may not otherwise make the cut. Those who oppose Affirmative Action say the practice unlawfully discriminates against other groups.
What’s interesting about these two cases is one university is private and one is public however, both accept funding from the federal government which subjects them to these rules. It’s also worth noting that some states including California and Florida have banned the consideration of race in admissions to public universities.
