Diversity Issues: Filings in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action

August 31, 2013 — In about a month and a half (October 15), the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, a case that is likely to have a national impact on the use of race in college admissions. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year found a Michigan law banning the use of affirmative action in state institutions, Proposal 2, unconstitutional. Supporters of the ban appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The outcome of the ruling could affect the status of California’s Proposition 209, which has banned the use of race-conscious admissions in state institutions since  its passage in 1996.

Indeed, California’s experience with college diversity (or the lack thereof) over the past decade and a half figures to factor into the high court’s deliberations. The Bunche Center has submitted an amicus brief in support of the Coalition, which can be found HERE. The UC President and Chancellors, as well as California Attorney General Kamala Harris also have filed briefs in support of the 6th Circuit ruling that overturned Proposal 2.

A Los Angeles Times article on the case can be found HERE.