Diversity’s day of reckoning at the Supreme Court

Sometime between now and July 4, the Supreme Court may hand down the most important decision on racial discrimination in a generation because it could determine whether the diversity movement has legal authority.

The suspense is much less a matter of which way the court rules on the legality of how students are assigned to schools in Seattle and Louisville, than how the decision is written.

Even supporters of the school-assignment plans that aim for certain racial balances in the student populations in those cities’ schools and their allies worry that the court’s new conservative majority will say their plans are unconstitutional.

The suspense - and the thing to watch on when the decision is handed down before the court adjourns for the summer - is how broadly it is written.

Simply put, the question is whether the court will decide to throw out these and other similar racial-balancing plans or - and this is where the decision could be so momentous - get into the basic question of whether diversity is a compelling government interest.

The school assignment plans in question are based on the idea that government can use its power to foster diversity.

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Source:
The Salt Lake Tribune