The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected school diversity plans that take account of students’ race in two major public school districts but left the door open for using race in limited circumstances.
The decision in cases affecting schools in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle could imperil similar plans in hundreds of districts nationwide, and it further restricts how public school systems may attain racial diversity.
The court split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts announcing the court’s judgment. The court’s four liberal justices dissented.
Yet Justice Anthony Kennedy would not go as far as the other four conservative justices, saying in a concurring opinion that race may be a component of school district plans designed to achieve diversity.
To the extent that Roberts’ opinion can be interpreted to foreclose the use of race in any circumstance, Kennedy said, “I disagree with that reasoning.”
He agreed with Roberts that the plans in Louisville and Seattle violated constitutional guarantees of equal protection.
