Hello and welcome to LegalEase. Today, I’d like to talk about the recent ruling by our U. S. Supreme Court regarding the use of affirmative action in college admissions. As we know, in June of 2023, our U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race can no longer be used as a basis for college admissions.

The question that applicants, parents, colleges, and universities all have is what’s next? Colleges and universities specifically ask, what can we do to comply with the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court and  also ensure a diverse campus because we know a diverse campus leads to a diverse workforce.  

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Department of Justice submitted guidance to help colleges and universities meet their goals. The first thing the Department of Justice told universities and colleges to do is to update their admissions policies to ensure compliance with the ruling. We want everyone to be compliant.

However, the DOJ went on to give a few helpful examples.

• Let’s say that you have an African American student who was the first African American violinist in her city’s orchestra. When the violinist applies to college or a university, she can talk about her experiences and how her race impacted her experience, which can be considered by the college for admission.
• Let’s say you’re a South Asian student and you transferred to a rural community. You could talk about how you were the only South Asian student in the area, how it affected you, and how, because of your background and experience, you can contribute to your campus in a variety of ways.

Even though the Supreme Court is saying colleges and universities can no longer consider race by itself, they can holistically consider race as relates to an applicant’s background and experience.

If you have any questions about the SCOTUS ruling, give us a call. We are happy to walk you through it and give you guidance. Our link is always in the bio, and you can schedule a consultation through our website. Thank you for joining LegalEase.