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

Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed suit against Harvard College, alleging that its undergraduate admissions process discriminated against Asian American applicants in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The case, consolidated with a similar suit against the University of North Carolina, challenged whether institutions of higher education could use race as a factor in admissions to achieve diversity. SFFA argued that Harvard penalized Asian American applicants through subjective personal ratings, effectively imposing a racial penalty, and sought to overrule Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), which had upheld the limited use of affirmative action.

In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court held that Harvard's and UNC's admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause. The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, found the programs lacked sufficiently focused and measurable objectives, employed race in a negative manner, and involved racial stereotyping. The Court overturned Grutter v. Bollinger, ruling that colleges may no longer consider race as a specific factor in admissions decisions, though applicants may still discuss how race affected their lives in essays.

Whether Harvard's and UNC's race-conscious admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by intentionally discriminating against Asian American applicants and lacking narrowly tailored means to achieve educational diversity.

The decision fundamentally overturned decades of precedent, effectively ending affirmative action in higher education across the United States. It forced colleges and universities to eliminate race-conscious admissions and seek race-neutral alternatives to achieve diversity. The ruling triggered significant shifts in elite college demographics and sparked intense national debates regarding meritocracy, equal opportunity, diversity, and the legacy of systemic discrimination in American society.