Attorney General Paxton filed a Virginia-led amicus brief with the Richmond, VA-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of race-neutral, meritocratic public-school admissions criteria. One Virginia school district, however, sought to “redefine merit” in order to reduce Asian-American enrollment and increase other favored racial minorities. The district’s goal was to move away from “equality” and toward racial “equity.” The district was sued and, fortunately, lost. It is now appealing, and Texas and other states argue that the lower court’s ruling should be affirmed.  

“The Supreme Court has ‘many times over’ reaffirmed that ‘racial balance is not to be achieved for its own sake,’” the brief reads. “Racial balancing is contrary to the Supreme Court’s ‘repeated recognition that at the heart of the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection lies the simple command that the Government must treat citizens as individuals, not as simply components of a racial . . . class.’” 

To read the amicus brief click here.