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California Moves Toward Reversal of Prop. 209

While it may have changed face since the affirmative action debates of the 1990s, the battle for diversity in California's higher education system has intensified in recent years, taking on new urgency as the state struggles to get ahead of its deep fiscal maladies. Since voters approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from considering race, sex or ethnicity 15 years ago, critics say minority enrollment at the California's public universities has plummeted - even as the number of minority high school graduates rises. On July 15, Gov. Jerry Brown heartened affirmative action supporters when he filed a brief arguing that ban - Proposition 209 - is unconstitutional when it prohibits race-conscious admissions programs. Those supporters are hoping that dual victories in California and Michigan - where the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals last week struck down that state's own version of Proposition 209 with regard to university admissions - will reopen the door to thousands of students they say have been shut out. Click here to read more.
 
 



INSIGHT Into Diversity