California
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Proposition 209 - California
California passed Proposition 209 in 1996, amending the state constitution to ban affirmative action programs in public education, employment and contracting. This ban has significantly decreased minority enrollment in the University of California system, especially the graduate and professional schools. It has also caused an extreme drop in the number of women- and minority-owned businesses; those businesses that survived now receive a much smaller portion of government contracting dollars.
More information on Proposition 209:
The California Coalition to Analyze the Impact of Proposition 209
Impacts of Proposition 209 Fact Sheet
Jerry Brown Calls Prop. 209 Unconstitutional – San Francisco Chronicle – April 22, 2009
California Affirmative Action Ban Again Under Court Scrutiny – The National Law Journal – March 19, 2009
Affirmative Action News in Primary and Secondary Education:
Court Will Not Hear Challenge to School Integration Strategy– The Daily Californian – June 15, 2009
High School Exit Exam Hinders Female and Non-White Students – Los Angeles Times – April 22, 2009
Court Upholds Berkeley School Policy that Considers Neighborhood Racial Composition—The Oakland Tribune—March 17, 2009
Madera Unified Case is Changing Elections Throughout California – Los Angeles Times – January 4, 2009
Proposition 209 Doesn’t Affect Magnet Schools, Judicial Panel Rules – Los Angeles Times – December 20, 2008
Affirmative Action News in Higher Education:
Title IX Ruling in California Could Lead to Stricter Standards– The New York Times – June 18, 2009
UC Berkeley Receives Record Number of Applications; Students Demand Increase in Minority Admissions – The Berkeley Daily Planet – April 16, 2009
UC Regents Move Toward Easing Admissions Requirements – Los Angeles Times – February 5, 2009
Rethinking Affirmative Action – The Stockton Record – January 8, 2009
UCLA’s New Admission Policy Rights a Wrong – Los Angeles Times – September 7, 2008
UCLA Accused of Illegal Admissions Practices – Los Angeles Times – August 30, 2008
Diversity Gap Grows in UC Med Schools, Says Report – New America Media – July 22, 2008
Status Report on the Diversity of the University of California Medical Student Body – The Greenlining Institute – Spring 2008
“Merit Matters”: Race, Myth, and UCLA Admissions – Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA – September 2006
Admissions and Omissions: How “The Numbers” Are Used to Exclude Deserving Students – Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA – June 2006
(E)racing Race, Erasing Access - Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA - November 2005
Separate But Certainly Not Equal - Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA - April 2004
Affirmative Action News in Contracting and Employment:
California Challenged on Race-, Gender-Based Contracts – The Sacramento Bee – June 12, 2009
LA County May Be Failing to Meet Minority Contract Goals – Los Angeles Times – May 12, 2009
Hispanic Contractors Removed From Caltrans’ Affirmative Action Program – HispanicBusiness.com – April 29, 2009
Key Findings: Affirmative Action in Contracting & Employment
A Vision Fulfilled? The Impact of Proposition 209 on Equal Opportunity for Women Business Enterprises – Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice (UC Berkeley School of Law) – September 2007
Free to Compete? Measuring the Impact of Proposition 209 on Minority Business Enterprises – Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice (UC Berkeley School of Law) – August 2006
