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Education Law

Georgetown University Law Center

Affirmative action programs in education

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The Promise And Precondition Of Educational Autonomy, Neal K. Katyal Jan 2003

The Promise And Precondition Of Educational Autonomy, Neal K. Katyal

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Part One of this Essay defends the Court's [Grutter] analysis. The thesis here is a simple one: Universities should have a zone of freedom in which to conduct their academic affairs because they are better at making choices about educational matters than are generalist courts. This is the position I took, both in the Sixth Circuit and in the Supreme Court, as the chief counsel to the amicus deans of many of the nation's leading private law schools in Grutter. Academic freedom has become something of a pariah concept; indeed, our amicus brief contained the only substantial discussion, let alone …


Two Views Of The River: A Critique Of The Liberal Defense Of Affirmative Action, Charles R. Lawrence Iii Jan 2001

Two Views Of The River: A Critique Of The Liberal Defense Of Affirmative Action, Charles R. Lawrence Iii

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In response to the attack on affirmative action at educational institutions, the argument that the benefits of diversity necessitate keeping affirmative action has emerged as the dominant defense of race-conscious admissions policies. Describing this argument as the “liberal defense of affirmative action,” Professor Lawrence critiques the liberal defense because it fails to challenge the manner in which traditional standards of merit perpetuate race and class privilege, and pushes aside more radically, substantive defenses of affirmative action which articulate the need to remedy past and ongoing discrimination. While recognizing the difficulties and ambivalence inherent in advancing a new vision for defending …