Fisher v. University of Texas

Lawsuits filed over the use of race as a consideration in the public college and university admissions processes involve the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and Title VI, a federal law enacted within the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits federal financial assistance to institutions that discriminate on the grounds of race, color, and national origin. Beginning in the early 1970s, Title VI served as a motivator for institutions of higher education to adopt affirmative action programs that considered race as a factor in admissions in order to increase enrollment and provide financial support to minoritized students of color. The Equal Protection Clause requires government actors, such as state-funded public colleges and universities, to treat individuals who are similarly ...