Supreme Court asks for Biden DOJ view on Harvard affirmative action challenge

The Supreme Court on Monday called on the Biden administration to weigh in on a challenge to Harvard’s use of race in student admissions.

The move was widely seen as a signal that the 6-3 conservative court is interested in taking up the potentially landmark affirmative action dispute, though the justices’ request could push back the litigation timeline by several months.

The case arose after a conservative-backed group, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), sued Harvard, alleging the school illegally discriminates against Asian American applicants. 

In its February petition to the Supreme Court, SFFA urged the justices to overturn Grutter v. Bollinger, a landmark 2003 decision upholding the right of college admissions boards to factor in applicants’ race in order to benefit minority groups and enhance diversity.

“Grutter’s core holding — that universities can use race in admissions to pursue student-body diversity — is plainly wrong,” the group’s petition states. The challengers say their case against Harvard’s policy gives the court an “ideal vehicle” for reevaluating its stance on affirmative action given the school’s outsize role in past affirmative action rulings.

In 2019, a Boston-based federal judge rejected SFFA’s bid, finding Harvard’s admissions program was lawful. That decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, prompting SFFA’s appeal to the Supreme Court.  

Harvard, in an opposition brief, denied that its policy is discriminatory and accused SFFA of a brazen attempt to upend decades of precedent allowing schools’ use racial distinctions in admissions programs.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Solicitor General will handle briefing arguments to the court on behalf of the U.S. government. 

The case is Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, No. 20-1199.