April 1, 2004
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
This article explores the applicability of the diversity rationale in Grutter to K-12 school admission, attendance, and transfer policies, with a view toward determining whether federal courts applying Grutter are likely to construe the decision narrowly or more broadly. First, the article briefly discusses relevant Supreme Court precedent, ending with a discussion of Grutter and the rationale underlying its holding. Next, this article summarizes federal court precedent directly related to K-12 public school admission, attendance, and transfer policies, and examines how this precedent may still be relevant in the post-Grutter era. Finally, this article examines the language of Grutter that can be fairly read to either limit its rationale to the university setting or expand it to the K-12 setting and examines this language in light of the federal cases previously discussed, bringing them together to argue that Grutter may have limited applicability in the K-12 context. The article concludes by discussing some of the (many) remaining questions that survive Grutter.
Related Documents