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For Immediate Release
Contact: media@aclu.org

ACLU Statement on Supreme Court Decision in College Diversity Case

NEW YORK

In a 7-1 decision in Fisher v. University of Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court considered but did not resolve the constitutionality of the admissions program at the University of Texas, which considers race as one factor among many in choosing the incoming class. Instead, the court sent the case back to the lower courts in an opinion that accepted the importance of diversity in higher education, but directed the lower courts to look more carefully at the method by which the university sought to achieve that goal. The American Civil Liberties Union was one of many groups that filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold the Texas plan.

"Today's near-unanimous decision leaves intact the important principle that universities have a compelling interest in a diverse student body, and that race can be one factor among many that universities consider in a carefully crafted admissions program," said Dennis Parker, director of the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "We believe that the University of Texas has made a strong showing that its admissions plan was necessary to achieve meaningful diversity, and that it can and should be upheld under the standard that the Supreme Court announced today."

More information about the case is available here.

This statement is available here.

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

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