Institute for Educational Policy Research & Evaluation
CONTACT: Dr. Catherine Horn, Executive Director, 713.743.5032, clhorn2@uh.edu

On November 2, 2015, an amicus brief of 823 leading social scientists in support of respondents in the Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin (No. 14-981) was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court.  Dr. Horn and associates (2003; 2012; 2015) and other scholars were citied in this brief, which provided a rigorous review of the literature on the Texas top ten percent policy.  The social scientists argued that race consideration in the holistic admission review process is necessary and complements the top ten percent plan for UT Austin to achieve its educational mission. 

The top ten percent plan alone is not sufficient to garner the diversity needed to create a diverse learning environment due in part to the inequitable distribution of educational opportunities for African American and Latino students.  Horn and Flores (2012) found that 60% White students, compared to 36% African American and 47% Latino students have enroll in Texas’ flagship institution despite the broad range of outreach and recruitment of African American and Latino students; therefore race conscious admission policies are necessary to ensure a diverse student body. Furthermore, the social science research concluded that socioeconomic status does not substitute for race-conscious consideration in admissions, and alone does not produce the diversity needed to achieve the institutional mission. 

The brief also contained research on the decrease of diversity in particular fields, such as medicine, law, business, and science, due in part to the ban on race-conscious admission review.  The brief concluded that by banning race-conscious admissions review the quality of education for all students diminishes, by limiting students opportunities to interact with a racially and ethnically diverse student body, which are skills needed to socially and economically integrate in a global workforce.   

Read the full Fisher v UT Austin Amicus Brief 2015

Other Related Links
The Civil Rights Project Brief Press Release
AERA et al. Amicus Brief

Reference
Horn, C. L. & Flores, S. M. (2012). “When Policy Opportunity Is Not Enough: College
Access and Enrollment Patterns Among Texas Percent Plan Eligible Students,” Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 3, Issue 2, Article 9.