Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

The case arose when Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. sued Harvard College, alleging that its race-conscious undergraduate admissions process discriminated against Asian American applicants and violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court consolidated this case with a similar challenge against the University of North Carolina. On June 29, 2023, the Court ruled that Harvard's and UNC's admissions programs, which considered race as a factor, failed to satisfy strict scrutiny and violated the Equal Protection Clause. The decision overruled Grutter v. Bollinger, holding that race-based admissions lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives, that they employ race in a negative manner, and that they involve racial stereotyping.

The Supreme Court held 6-3 that Harvard's and UNC's race-conscious admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, concluded that the universities' use of race could not be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause, effectively overruling Grutter v. Bollinger and ending affirmative action in college admissions.

Whether Harvard College's use of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and whether the educational benefits of diversity constitute a compelling governmental interest that justifies racial classifications in admissions.

The decision forced colleges and universities across the United States to abandon race-based admissions preferences, reshaping campus diversity efforts and prompting institutions to seek race-neutral alternatives. It intensified public debate over equal opportunity, merit, and the role of race in higher education, and marked a significant shift in constitutional law regarding affirmative action.