NEW YORK - The College Board and National School Boards Association (NSBA) today lead eleven (11) additional education organizations in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a University of Texas (UT) admission policy promoting a diverse student body. The case involves a challenge to UT’s race-conscious admission policy, which was adopted pursuant to current U.S. Supreme Court standards. The College Board and NSBA brief is part of an effort joined by dozens of other education, corporate, civil rights, and other organizations and individuals.
“The College Board believes strongly in the educational benefits of diversity for all students and for the nation,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “This brief supports the mission-driven enrollment goals in our nation’s colleges and universities, as well as the professional judgment exercised by admission officers consistent with current federal law.”
NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant added, “The National School Boards Association is committed to the principle that diversity promotes the educational achievement of all students. Preserving the ability to develop sound, academically driven diversity policies is in the best interests of all students in our public schools and beyond.”
Signatories include the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the American Association of School Administrators, the Association of Teacher Educators, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Horace Mann League, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Public Education Network, and the Texas Association of School Boards Legal Assistance Fund.
Information and links:
The brief
http://diversitycollaborative.collegeboard.org/fisher-v-university-texas-amicus-brief
Background on Fisher v. University of Texas
Background on Grutter v. Bollinger
The College Board established the Access & Diversity Collaborative after the 2003 Supreme Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger to provide policy and legal guidance on diversity-related issues.
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org.
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards, as well as the Board of Education of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Through its member state associations, NSBA represents more than 90,000 school board members who govern approximately 13,800 local school districts serving nearly 50 million public school students. NSBA regularly represents its members’ interests before Congress and federal and state courts, and has participated as amicus curiae in many cases involving public school diversity policies.
Contact:
Leslie Sepuka The College Board 212-713-8052 communications@collegeboard.org