Sua Sponte: NSBA urges U.S. Supreme Court to preserve public education diversity options
On August 13, 2012, NSBA, along with the College Board and eleven other education organizations, filed an amici curiae brief in Fisher v. University of Texas (UT), Docket No. 11-345, now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court will review the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (LA, TX, MS) that upheld the constitutionality of UT’s admissions process permitting the consideration of race/ethnicity as part of a holistic evaluation of a candidate’s application.
The case will likely involve the Court revisiting its decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). NSBA’s brief argues that the Court should avoid any dilution of Grutter that would undermine the current diversity efforts currently used throughout the spectrum of our public education system from kindergarten through post-secondary programs.
Given the needs of students to meet the demands of the 21st Century, diverse learning opportunities have become an even more compelling educational need to which schools must respond. In the brief, NSBA urges the Court to shun any restrictions that limit any further the options that schools may use to provide students with the knowledge and skills they will require to live and work in an increasingly diverse society, the brief asserts.
The brief was written by a team from EducationCounsel LLC, Washington, D.C., led by Arthur Coleman, former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. The Court will hear arguments on October 10, 2012.
NSBA Brief in Fisher v.University of Texas
