AG Garland Vows to Use All Tools to Back Schools After SCOTUS Kills Affirmative Action

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2023) US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said the Justice Department in the coming weeks will use every legal tool available to support educational diversity at schools negatively impacted by the Supreme Court's decision to strike down affirmative action admissions policies.

Earlier in the day, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in a 6-3 decision struck down raced-based admissions policies for colleges and universities.

"The Supreme Court's decision undercuts efforts by universities across the country to create a diverse group of graduates prepared to lead in an increasingly diverse nation. It will significantly set back efforts to advance educational opportunity for all Americans. And it upends nearly 50 years of precedent," Garland said in a statement. "The Department of Justice remains committed to promoting student diversity in higher education using all available legal tools.

In the coming weeks, we will work with the Department of Education to provide resources to college and universities on what admissions practices and programs remain lawful following the Court's decision."

The high court's ruling effectively invalidates Harvard's and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's (UNC) admissions policies by ruling they did not comply with the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection.

Harvard in a letter responding to the court ruling said it reaffirms the fundamental principle that deep and transformative learning depends upon a community comprising people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences.

"That principle is as true and important today as it was yesterday," the letter said.