Ace the Valencia Civic Literacy Test 2025 – Ignite Your Knowledge and Shine!

The case that addressed the issue of racial quotas in college admissions is Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. In this landmark decision from 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that while affirmative action programs aimed at increasing diversity in college admissions were permissible, the use of strict racial quotas was unconstitutional. The court found that Allan Bakke, a white applicant, had been unfairly denied admission to the medical school at the University of California, Davis, due to a quota system that reserved a certain number of seats for minority applicants. This case was significant in shaping the conversation around affirmative action and college admissions policies, as it recognized both the need for diversity in educational settings and the importance of ensuring equal treatment for all applicants, regardless of race.

In contrast, other options do not directly relate to college admissions or racial quotas. Plessy v. Ferguson established the "separate but equal" doctrine, Tinker v. Des Moines dealt with students' free speech rights in schools, and Brown v. Board of Education focused on the desegregation of public schools.