Yes, military academies are exempt from the SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action

The Supreme Court ruled on June 29 that race-based admissions are unconstitutional, prohibiting attempts at race-based affirmative action at public and private colleges alike.

But as people began to pore over the details of the decision, some identified a potential exception: military academies.

Users on Twitter asked whether Chief Justice John Roberts had exempted such institutions, allowing them to continue to make admissions based on race.

THE QUESTION

Are military academies exempt from the Supreme Court ruling prohibiting race-based admissions?

THE SOURCES

• Majority opinion, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

• United States Military Academy at West Point

• United States Coast Guard Academy

THE ANSWER

Yes, military academies are exempt from the SCOTUS ruling, and can continue to consider race in their admissions processes.

WHAT WE FOUND

United States military academies are highly selective institutions, with acceptance rates similar to many of the most prestigious universities. Graduates receive a bachelor’s degree and become commissioned officers in their chosen branch.

Diversity has long been a priority for these schools, aiming to avoid a situation where officers consistently have far different backgrounds from the enlisted troops they oversee.

The United States Military Academy at West Point – which graduates officers into the U.S. Army – says on its website that it’s “multicultural by design.”

“The United States Military Academy… admits a racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse Corps of Cadets so as to reflect the racial and ethnic composition of our enlisted force and our country,” it states. “We believe a diverse student body results in a superior education for our cadets and in phenomenal leaders for our nation’s enlisted soldiers.”

But the Supreme Court ruled that intentionally selecting applicants based on race violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law regardless of race. That means if the military academies wanted to ensure a diverse body, they’d have to find a way to do so without asking applicants to identify their race.

Except, on page 22 of Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion, there’s a key footnote.

It says, “The [government] contends that race-based admissions programs further compelling interests at our Nation’s military academies. No military academy is a party to these cases, however, and none of the courts below addressed the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context. This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present.”

In other words, military academies are exempt from the ruling.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy confirmed in an email to VERIFY on June 30, “Yesterday's decision does not apply to military academies.”