The case was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white student who said the University of Texas had denied her admission because of her race.
In 2016, in its last major case on affirmative action in higher education, the Supreme Court upheld an aspect of an idiosyncratic admissions program at the University of Texas at Austin. In the process, it reaffirmed the distinction the court had drawn in earlier cases: that numerical quotas were unlawful but that taking account of race as one factor among many to achieve educational diversity was permissible.
The case was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white student who said the University of Texas had denied her admission because of her race.
In Texas, students in roughly the top 10 percent of their high schools were automatically admitted to the public university system.
