The Trump administration has revoked Obama-era guidelines calling for colleges to use race in admissions.
In a joint letter Tuesday, the Education and Justice Departments said the previous guidelines “advocate policy preferences and positions beyond the requirements of the Constitution.”
In a separate statement, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged colleges to use Supreme Court decisions as a guide to “what affirmative action policies are constitutional . . . Schools should continue to offer equal opportunities for all students while abiding by the law.”
“The retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the end of this month will leave the Supreme Court without its swing vote on affirmative action,” notes the New York Times. In addition, a new case, likely to be decided by the Supreme Court, “is pitting Harvard against Asian-American students who say one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions has systematically excluded some Asian-American applicants to maintain slots for students of other races.”