In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and 6-2 in the companion UNC case that race-conscious admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Court's 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger had previously allowed colleges to consider race as one factor among many to achieve the educational benefits of diversity.
Supporters of race-conscious admissions argue it helps address historical inequities and produces educational benefits from diverse student bodies; opponents argue it constitutes discrimination against applicants of other races, particularly Asian American applicants in the Harvard case.
Nine states, including California (1996) and Michigan (2006), banned race-conscious admissions at public universities through ballot initiatives prior to the 2023 ruling.
Chief Justice John Roberts' majority opinion stated that universities may still consider 'an applicant's discussion of how race affected his or her life,' but not race itself as a categorical factor.