What the end of affirmative action means for you

WAMU 88.5 | By Maya Garg

Published June 29, 2023 at 12:32 PM EDT

In a 6-3 vote, Supreme Court Justices ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional, setting precedent for affirmative action in other universities and colleges. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

It’s been a busy couple of weeks at the US Supreme court with major decisions coming down on independent state legislature theory, the Biden administration deportation policy and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

But the nation’s highest court left this term’s blockbuster decisions for last, with a ruling on affirmative action coming down this morning, 6-3 in favor of gutting the policy.

There were two cases under consideration,Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.Both lawsuits werebrought by the conservativegroupStudents for Fair Admissions. They allegedthat the schools discriminate against Asian students, an accusation the universities deny.

Affirmative action was originally introduced in 1965 to redress historical discrimination but it has been contentious fordecades. Supporterssayit’s vital for diversity, butcritics say itmeans not all races are treated the same.

We’ll discuss how education institutions are preparing for this next chapter and look back at recent opinions from this term of the Supreme Court.