The hot-button issue of affirmative action in college admissions is heading back to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that may have a significant impact on post-secondary institutions.
The court on Tuesday said it would hear a challenge to the University of Texas’ affirmative action policy, adding a new chapter to a dispute that dates back to the 1990s. At issue now is whether the university’s current policy goes beyond a 2003 high court ruling, Grutter v. Bollinger, that permits narrowly focused race-conscious admissions to promote diversity.
Observers were quick to note that the Supreme Court has changed since 2003, with conservatives now holding a majority. In addition, a recent Obama administration appointee, Elena Kagan, is likely to recuse herself from the case because she was involved in it while serving as U.S. solicitor general.
“The 5-4 majority for Grutter no longer exists,” said Richard Kahlenberg, senior fellow at The Century Foundation in Washington, D.C. The swing vote in 2003 was held by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has retired, he noted.
In 2012, Kahlenberg told Diverse, the Supreme Court has a “majority of justices who are fairly skeptical in the use of race in admissions.”
Critics of affirmative action welcomed the court’s decision to study the Texas policy.
“The court is right to take the case, because the justices must keep an eye on what schools are doing,” said Roger Clegg, chief executive officer of the Center for Equal Opportunity, an opponent of affirmative action. “Instead of preferences being phased out, in some ways they are getting worse.”
