Legal experts: Beware "proxy discrimination" in wake of SCOTUS vindication of equality in college admissions

Contributors to the Merc's op-ed page are pouting, but the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is applauding SCOTUS' shutting down of race-based admissions to colleges. The PLF filed an amicus brief on behalf of its clients, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY) and Coalition for TJ, among other groups. Their response below.

“The Court’s decision today vindicates the principle of equality before the law and has made it unmistakably clear that racial discrimination is wrong and has no place in education,” said Joshua Thompson, director of equality and opportunity litigation at Pacific Legal Foundation. “All individuals should be judged on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.”

Yet the fight for race-blind admissions will persist, as universities are expected to pivot to “proxy discrimination,” using facially race-neutral factors to achieve desired racial outcomes.

Pacific Legal Foundation has increasingly seen proxy discrimination in admissions for competitive K-12 schools. Last month, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, which had successfully challenged Thomas Jefferson High School’s admissions process that was designed to reduce the number of Asian American students admitted to TJ.

PLF will be filing a petition for certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming months, which the Justices could take up to prevent universities and secondary schools from circumventing the demands of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Court’s opinion today.

Read PLF's response to the SCOTUS decision here.

For more on the local response to SCOTUS ruling, read exclusive perspectives from former CFER Outreach Director Marc Ang and Bay Area CFER board member Tony Xu.

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