|
||||||||||||
|
Legal Memos Following you will find legal information about civil rights cases and constitutional requirements in subjects such as educational diversity, affirmative action, and race-conscious policies: Reaffirming Diversity: A Legal Analysis of the University of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases On June 23, 2003, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions policies designed to promote diversity in higher education. In a 5-to-4 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court, drawing on Justice Powell’s opinion in the 1978 case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, held that student body diversity is a compelling governmental interest that can justify the use of race as a “plus” factor in a competitive admissions process. July 2003 The upcoming decisions of the United States Supreme Court in two major cases – Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger – are expected to have broad effects on the future of race-conscious affirmative action in the United States. In these cases, the Supreme Court will address the constitutionality of admissions policies at the University of Michigan that are designed to promote educational diversity in both the University’s undergraduate college and its law school. March 2003. Overview of Constitutional
Requirements in Race-Conscious Affirmative Action Policies in Education
(in PDF Format) Almost all educational institutions are required to meet strict legal requirements when taking race into account in admissions, financial aid, student assignment, and other educational policy decisions. These requirements arise from the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which applies to "state actors" such as public school districts and public institutions of higher learning, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies to both public and private institutions that receive federal funds. September 2002. Constitutional Requirements for Race-Conscious Policies in K-12 Education (in PDF Format) Voluntary efforts to promote racial integration at the K-12 level have met strong resistance from the courts in recent years, despite the long history of court involvement in desegregration litigation. Race-conscious policies have invoked both the integration ideals growing out Brown v. Board of Education and the diversity rationale in higher education stemming from Justice Powell's opinion in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. The policy making and recent case law in this area are unsettled, however, because two bodies of equal protection law can apply to race-conscious policies in the K-12 setting. One body of law applies to court-ordered desegregation remedies, and the other applies to voluntary programs and policies, either remedial or non-remedial in nature. The general legal principles and recent case developments are discussed below. September 2002. Constitutional Policies for Affirmative Action in Higher Education Admissions and Financial Aid (in PDF Format) Race-conscious affirmative action programs in higher education are subject to "strict scrutiny," which is the highest standard of review used by the courts to evaluate a policy's constitutionality. The courts employ a two-part test: First, does the policy serve a "compelling governmental interest"? This means that the underlying goal of the policy must be especially important and must be supported by sufficient evidence. Second, is the policy "narrowly tailored" to satisfy that interest? This means that, among other things, the policy is necessary to achieve the compelling interest and there are no race-neutral or less burdensome alternatives that could achieve the same interest. The different elements of the strict scrutiny test are discussed below. September 2002.
|
