The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that colleges and universities must stop favoring certain skin colors in admissions, forcing institutions of higher education to consider merit ahead of diverse student bodies.
In a 6-3 decision, the court struck down admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public colleges, respectively.
Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent that the decision “rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress.”
The Supreme Court had twice upheld race-favoritism in college admissions programs in the past 20 years, including as recently as 2016.
But that was before the three appointees of former President Donald Trump joined the court.
At arguments in late October, all six conservative justices expressed doubts about the practice.
Lower courts had upheld the programs at both UNC and Harvard, rejecting claims that the schools discriminated against white and Asian-American applicants.
By a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court just ruled that university admissions programs that use affirmative action and other race-based admissions criteria are unconstitutional and violate the 14th Amendment. Roberts wrote the opinion. https://t.co/k5ZBSlUh12 pic.twitter.com/Yf5ReefNVY
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) June 29, 2023
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article