Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling ‘an attack on people of color,’ Illinois education leaders say

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed affirmative action in higher education on Thursday, ending decades of race-conscious admissions that meant to give historically disadvantaged students a better chance at college. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Local educational leaders decried Thursday’s Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in higher education as “an attack on people of color” that stunts racial progress, and administrators vowed to continue helping students of color in Illinois.

The long-anticipated ruling by the conservative majority in the nation’s highest court sends colleges and universities back to the drawing board in their attempts to diversify student populations. Affirmative action had been upheld under Supreme Court decisions since 1978.