Supreme Court case could end affirmative action policies once and for all

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear a challenge to affirmative action policies in a case that will consider wither the admissions process at certain universities discriminates against students of Asian descent.

The court agreed to hear two companion lawsuits brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group that believes policies that use race as a factor in college admissions unconstitutionally discriminate against certain students in favor of others.

The group claims that Harvard's undergraduate admissions process discriminates against Asian-Americans and that UNC's discriminates against both Asian-Americans and white students. The lawsuits were brought against both a private and a public university to challenge the affirmative action policies at both kinds of institution. Lower courts have rejected these challenges, ruling that Supreme Court precedent upholds the right of colleges and universities to consider race in admissions decisions as a way to promote diversity.