University of Texas Admissions Policy Upheld

On Tuesday, a federal district court upheld the University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) consideration of race in student admissions. Fisher v. Texas is the first federal court challenge to the use of race in university admissions since the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger U.S. Supreme Court decision, declaring that universities can take race into account in pursuing the compelling interest in a diverse student population.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is concerned about equal educational opportunity for all students in the U.S. and filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of UT’s holistic admissions plan, on behalf of UT’s Black Student Alliance and several African-American students who are enrolled or who would like to enroll at UT in the future.

The court concluded that UT’s plan seeks to “break down racial stereotypes, enable students to better understand persons of different races, better prepare students to function in a multi-cultural workforce, cultivate the next set of national leaders, and prevent minority students from serving as ‘spokespersons’ for their race.” The court rejected plaintiffs’ claims that Texas’s law guaranteeing admission to the top 10 percent of high school graduates generated a sufficiently diverse student body.

“Today’s decision will allow the University of Texas at Austin to continue its essential and well-documented efforts to provide a truly diverse educational environment for its students.” said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel.

The decision in Fisher v. Texas, issued by Judge Sam Sparks of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, can be located online at www.naacpldf.org.

What are the benefits of a holistic admissions program over one based on academic measures alone? How does UT’s admissions plan compare to other universities? Will the district court’s decision affect admissions policies in universities across the country? Are more legal challenges expected in other states and districts? Are high schools in Texas more segregated than in other states?