Texas
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In Texas, the 1996 case of Hopwood v. Texas spurred extensive debate regarding affirmative action. In that case, four white plaintiffs challenged the University of Texas law school admissions policy of considering race as a factor in admissions decisions. The Fifth Circuit held that the law school’s admissions policy violated the Fourteenth Amendment, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. The Hopwood decision effectively ended the consideration of race in the law school’s admissions process, and the enrollment of students of color shrank dramatically. However, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger basically overturned Hopwood.
In response to the Hopwood decision, the Texas legislature passed the Top Ten Percent Plan, where seniors who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class are guaranteed automatic admission to any Texas public college or university. Though the Grutter decision allowed the consideration of race in admissions, the Top Ten Percent Plan remains in place. Currently, there is debate about whether the plan should be reconsidered.
In 1997, the city of Houston voted on an initiative, similar to Connerly’s initiative, that would have outlawed affirmative action. The city rejected the initiative and affirmed its support for equal opportunity programs.
In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case brought by a Texas utility district case, challenging the Voting Rights Act requirement of pre-clearance for certain parts of the country. The Court’s opinion in the case avoided the controversial issue of whether the Section Five pre-clearance requirement is constitutional, and instead issued a narrow holding that the District was eligible to apply for an exemption from the preclearance requirement.
News and Publications
Court Win for Affirmative Action – Inside Higher Ed – August 18, 2009
Texas Vote Curbs a College Admission Guarantee Meant to Bolster Diversity – The New York Times – May 30, 2009
San Antonio Is Awarding More Contracts to Women, Minority Firms—San Antonio Business Journal—April 9, 2009
Senate Grants Final Approval to Changes in Top Ten Percent Law—Austin American-Statesman—March 25, 2009
Settlement’s OK May Hurt Female Contractors—The Houston Chronicle—March 24, 2009
Legal Nuance in the Top 10 Percent Debate—Austin American-Statesman—March 6, 2009
A Texas Challenge to the Voting Rights Act – Los Angeles Times – January 17, 2009
University of Texas Wants Legislature to Modify Top 10 Percent Rule – The Dallas Morning News – January 7, 2009
White Teen Sues University of Texas over Admissions Policy - Houston Chronicle - April 8, 2008
Affirmative Action, Texas Style, Stirs Criticism—The Christian Science Monitor—February 12, 2003
An Equal Chance—The New York Times—April 23, 1998
Voters Turn Back Affirmative Action Ban Much Like the One in California—The New York Times—November 5, 1997
Affirmative Action Faces Critical Vote in Houston—The Seattle Times—November 2, 1997
About Hopwood—University of Texas School of Law
