Judge Rules University's New Admissions Policies Not Unlawful

U.S. Supreme CourtU.S. District Judge Robert Pitman has rejected claims by Students for Fair Admissions that the University of Texas at Austin continued to unlawfully consider race when admitting students after the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Students for Fair Admissions v. University of Texas at Austin was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in 2020, amid similar challenges to race-conscious admissions policies include the so-called Harvard affirmative action case.

Students for Fair Admissions alleged the university improperly considered race in admissions and discriminated against white applicants in violation of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Pitman dismissed this latest lawsuit on July 15, describing the Supreme Court's decision as a "watershed" ruling that "upended longstanding affirmative action precedent. The federal judge said the University of Texas at Austin overhauled its admissions policy to comply with the high court's ruling by ceasing the consideration of race or ethnicity as a factor in the admissions process beginning in fall 2023.