A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the Affirmative Action Bans. We also examined how theses ban affected the enrollment rates of minority students. Today, we will be looking at what made those bans constitutional.
Currently, eight states have banned race-based affirmative action policies. These states made the bans at all public universities. Following the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas, that stated that colleges must demonstrate that using race in their admissions process must be applied under strict scrutiny, which means that those policies must be ‘tailored’ to serve a compelling governmental interest. However, just a year later, SCOTUS ruled in a case called Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. This case was decided in 2014 by the US Supreme Court. Here are the facts of the matter:
Background of the Case:
In 2006, Michigan voters supported a proposition to amend the state constitution. Voters wanted the constitution to prohibit sex and race-based preferences in public education, public employment, and public contracting. Hearing the news, supporters of Affirmative Action formed a coalition group called the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. The Coalition sued the governor, the regents and board of trustees, and argued that the proposition violated the Equal Protection Clause. Later on, Attorney General and Michigan Law School applicant Eric Russell filed motions to intervene as defendants. Their proposal was granted, but the plaintiffs argue that Russell should be removed from the case. Russell did not represent interest separate from the AG. The district courts granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants but also allowed the motion to have Russell removed. This case was brought in front of the Supreme Court of the US. So, the question SCOTUS looked at was if the proposition violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
End Result of the Case:
The plurality of the ruling was 6 to 2. SCOTUS ruled that the proposition did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Kennedy argued in the majority opinion that the attempt to define and protect its interest, based on race, ran the risk of the government to classify people based on race. In essence, this will allow the government to perpetuate the same racism, and such policies are used to alleviate that problem. Thus, allowing voters to have a say in Affirmative Action policies.
The case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, allowed voters to have a say in Affirmative Action policies. This news may be troubling for many universities, who use race-based Affirmative Action policies as their primary source for promoting diversity on campus. The states that have banned Affirmative Action policies are using voter referendum are California, Michigan, Washington, Nebraska, Arizona, and Oklahoma. In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush passed an executive order enforcing the ban, and in New Hampshire, a bill has passed that banned the consideration of race.
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