Two highly selective public law schools in the United States offer valuable guidance on admitting diverse students if the U.S. Supreme Court bans considering race in admissions decisions. The University of Michigan Law School and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law experienced declining enrollment among Black, Hispanic, and Native American students following the ban on affirmative action in public university admissions in their respective states. However, both schools implemented innovative strategies that could serve as models for other institutions facing a potential ban on considering race in admissions.
These strategies include participating in pipeline programs that expose college students to legal careers, evaluating applicants' family income and whether they are the first in their families to attend college, and assessing other factors beyond race. Despite the initial decline, both law schools have successfully increased the representation of diverse groups, surpassing pre-ban levels.
The impact of affirmative action bans extends beyond Michigan and California, with nine states currently prohibiting such practices. Law school administrators in these states receive nationwide inquiries from colleagues seeking guidance on enrolling in diverse classes while race cannot be considered. The Association of American Law Schools has even organized a conference on admissions in a post-affirmative action landscape.
The potential ban on affirmative action has significant implications for the legal profession, which remains less diverse than the U.S. population. The legal community aims to address this disparity, but banning affirmative action could hinder progress in increasing racial diversity among lawyers.
Law school admissions officials highlight the potential consequences of reducing the number of minority undergraduate students, which could subsequently impact the pipeline of diverse students considering legal careers. If minority law student enrollment declines, the slow but steady progress in the number of racially diverse attorneys is expected to reverse.
Law schools like Michigan and Berkeley are adapting their recruitment and admission strategies to mitigate the challenges. They focus on whether applicants are first-generation college students, high school attended, family income, and application essays. Both institutions also prioritize outreach to events and institutions with significant minority enrollment, striving to create diverse classes.
While recovering from the affirmative action ban takes time and additional institutional effort, these law schools demonstrate that diversity can still be achieved without relying on race in admissions decisions. However, the absence of affirmative action poses the risk that some institutions may abandon their efforts to promote diversity, highlighting the importance of ongoing commitment to inclusivity in higher education.
