The Challenge to Affirmative Action — The Rise of the ‘Percentage Plan’
1978: The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke stipulates that race cannot be the sole arbiter in admissions decisions, but allows race to be one among many factors considered for the purpose of promoting diversity in higher education.
1995: The state of California adopts admissions policy SP-1, halting the use of race as a factor in admissions to the University of California.
1996: Proposition 209, which ends all forms of affirmative action in state employment, passes in California.
