Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard is a 2023 US Supreme Court decision, consolidated with a companion case against the University of North Carolina, that held race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, overturning decades of precedent that had permitted limited consideration of race. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts held that universities may not use race as a specific basis for an admissions decision, though an applicant may still discuss how race shaped their own individual experience if tied to a quality of character or unique ability they would bring. Dissenting, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.
Facts
Key ProvisionHeld that race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause, barring race as a specific basis for an admissions decision while still permitting an applicant to discuss how race shaped their own individual experience. 1 Enacted / Adopted YearYear the decision was handed down; this policy type has no separate decided-year key. Classification
Policy TypeAccess or Equity Policy 1 Education LevelBachelor or Equivalent (ISCED 6) 2 Policy Status
Policy Status (category) FAQs
Did the Students for Fair Admissions ruling decide the question for military academies?
The Court left military academies undecided.
No. Because no US military academies were parties to the cases, there were no relevant lower court rulings, and the academies may present distinct interests, the Court did not decide the fate of race-based affirmative action in military academies. The Court said it was limited by Article III of the Constitution.
Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (Wikipedia)Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Introduction section
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationStudents for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Majority opinion and Dissents sections
Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Majority opinion section
In the majority opinion, Roberts wrote that the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause applies without regard to any difference of race, of color, or of nationality and thus must apply to every person.
Description, policy-kind classification
Harvard is a 2023 US Supreme Court decision, consolidated with a companion case against the University of North Carolina, that held race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, overturning decades of precedent that had permitted limited consideration of race.
View the Source 2. Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
181 (2023), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that race-based affirmative action programs in most college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Introduction section
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that race-based affirmative action programs in most college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
intro of the article
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that race-based affirmative action programs in most college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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