--- title: Supreme Court: States Can Ban Affirmative Action Policies description: The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 on Tuesday to support Michigan's constitutional amendment that bans colleges from raced-based admissions decisions. Seven other states, including California and Florida, have similar bans canonical: https://time.com/71871/supreme-court-affirmative-action-michigan/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-22T15:02:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:25:50.922Z article:section: Politics og:title: Supreme Court: States Can Ban Affirmative Action Policies og:description: The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 on Tuesday to support Michigan's constitutional amendment that bans colleges from raced-based admissions decisions. Seven other states, including California and Florida, have similar bans og:url: https://time.com/71871/supreme-court-affirmative-action-michigan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37bba485a3cbb96b/69868bd613c79faad7191bb4/supreme-court-affirmative-action-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Jennifer Gratz, right, CEO of XIV Foundation and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette speak during a press conference outside the Supreme Court after going before the Supreme Court in "Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action" on Oct. 15, 20 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Supreme Court: States Can Ban Affirmative Action Policies twitter:description: The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 on Tuesday to support Michigan's constitutional amendment that bans colleges from raced-based admissions decisions. Seven other states, including California and Florida, have similar bans twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37bba485a3cbb96b/69868bd613c79faad7191bb4/supreme-court-affirmative-action-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Supreme Court: States Can Ban Affirmative Action Policies > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=bd54bc5e-3e3c-4438-bd0c-a272d0396541&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Apr 22, 2014 3:02 PM UTC  Jennifer Gratz, right, CEO of XIV Foundation and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette speak during a press conference outside the Supreme Court after going before the Supreme Court in "Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action" on Oct. 15, 2013 in Washington, DC. Jennifer Gratz, right, CEO of XIV Foundation and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette speak during a press conference outside the Supreme Court after going before the Supreme Court in "Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action" on Oct. 15, 2013 in Washington, DC. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Apr 22, 2014 3:02 PM UTC The Supreme Court [ruled](http://live.scotusblog.com/Event/Live%5Fblog%5Fof%5Fopinions%5F%5FApril%5F22%5F2014%5F2) Tuesday that states can ban affirmative action policies without violating the U.S. Constitution. The ruling, in a 6-2 decision, upholds a voter-approved amendment to Michigan’s state constitution that prohibits race-based college admissions decisions, effectively banning affirmative action in the state. The Supreme Court reversed a lower court opinion that the ban was discriminatory. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined for a dissenting decision. Justice Elena Kagan did not participate. Seven other states—Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Washington—have similar bans, and the ruling paves the way for others to vote. The ruling follows a long-term trend of eroding support in the courts for affirmative action policies across the country, echoing a statement from former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor following a high court ruling in 2003 that upheld the constitutionality of colleges considering race as a factor in college admissions. O’Connor said that within a quarter century “the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary.” Tuesday’s decision does not address the constitutionality or merits of affirmative action college admissions policies themselves, SCOTUSblog reports. Rather, the ruling addresses the right of voters in a state to ban the practice in state law. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/71871/supreme-court-affirmative-action-michigan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/71871/supreme-court-affirmative-action-michigan/"},"headline":"Supreme Court: States Can Ban Affirmative Action Policies","datePublished":"2014-04-22T15:02:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:25:50.922Z","description":"The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 on Tuesday to support Michigan's constitutional amendment that bans colleges from raced-based admissions decisions. 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