U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill to ensure colleges and universities comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
In June, SCOTUS determined that affirmative action violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, overruling a 2003 opinion that race could be a determining factor in the college admissions process.
Vance’s bill, the College Admissions Accountability Act, would “condition eligibility for federal student assistance and institutional aid on universities’ adherence to the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI prohibitions on racial discrimination or racial preferences,” according to the senator’s office.
Our university system has sadly shown a dedicated commitment to racial discrimination in admissions. Today I proposed legislation to address this problem, and force our colleges to consider merit—and nothing else. https://t.co/XcNJLYIrN2
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) December 5, 2023
The legislation would also “create a Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education to investigate any college admissions department that employs policies or practices violating applicants’ constitutional rights,” Vance’s office notes.
Vance said his bill “creates the means necessary to enforce the Court’s decision and hold colleges and universities accountable for illegal discrimination on the basis of race.”
“Every student in America is entitled to equal protection under the law, regardless of their background,” Vance added. “Yet for decades, America’s higher education cartel has discriminated against applicants and students by adhering to racial preferences under the banner of ‘equity.’ The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in SFFA v. Harvard rightly called for an end to these unjust practices.”
Vance’s bill is endorsed by the National Association of Scholars, The Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life, and Citizens for Renewing America.
Indiana U.S. Representative Jim Banks (R-IN-03) is the lead sponsor of companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Universities should accept students based on merit and achievement, not the color of their skin. Race based admissions have divided our country further and we must pull the plug on this unjust social engineering once and for all,” Banks said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “JD Vance” by JD Vance.
