US Government blesses omitting race from admissions, enrollment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said the government would no longer encourage schools to use race as a factor in the admissions process, rescinding Obama-era guidance meant to promote diversity among students.

The shift announced Tuesday gives colleges the federal government’s blessing to leave race out of admissions and enrollment decisions and underscores the contentious politics that for decades have surrounded affirmation action policies, which have repeatedly been challenged before the Supreme Court.

The Obama administration memos encouraging schools to take race into account were among 24 policy documents revoked by the Justice Department for being “unnecessary, outdated, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper”. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the changes an effort to restore the “rule of law,” though civil rights groups decried the move and some universities said they intended to continue their diversity efforts as before.

The action comes amid a high-profile court fight over Harvard University admissions that has attracted the government’s attention, as well as Supreme Court turnover expected to produce a more critical eye toward schools’ race-conscious admissions policies.

The court’s most recent significant ruling on the subject bolstered colleges’ use of race among many factors in the admission process.

But the opinion’s author, Anthony Kennedy, announced his retirement last week, giving President Donald Trump a chance to replace him with a justice who may be more reliably skeptical of admissions programs that take race and ethnicity into account.

The new policy dramatically departs from the stance of the Obama administration, which said schools could consider race in admissions decisions.

In one 2011 policy document, the administration said courts had recognised schools’ “compelling interest” in ensuring racially diverse populations on campuses.

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