President Biden will deliver remarks in the Roosevelt Room on the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action at 12:30 PM.
In a decision announced today, the Supreme Court has ruled that colleges and universities across the nation must no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in their admissions processes. This landmark ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for affirmative action policies and practices in higher education.
The ruling, which comes after extensive deliberation and review, raises significant questions about the future of diversity initiatives and efforts to address historical inequalities in American society.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the conservative majority, declared today that the admissions programs of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) violated the Equal Protection Clause due to their failure to provide measurable objectives justifying the consideration of race in the admissions process.
Chief Justice Roberts argued that the admissions programs at both universities could not be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. According to the opinion, the programs lacked clearly defined and measurable objectives that would justify the use of race as a factor in the admissions decisions. Additionally, Roberts asserted that the programs employed race in a negative manner, perpetuated racial stereotypes, and lacked meaningful end points.
“We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today,” wrote Chief Justice Roberts.
Speaker McCarthy expressed his satisfaction with the Court’s decision, highlighting the significance of equal standards and individual merit as the foundations of a fair and just system.
“Now students will be able to compete based on equal standards and individual merit. This will make the college admissions process fairer and uphold equality under the law,” he said.
