Washington Lawmakers revive bid to Allow Public Colleges to Consider Race in Admissions

 The state Legislature is again considering a major change to Initiative 200 that would allow public colleges to consider race as a factor in admissions.  Although similar bills died in committee last year, the Senate and House again introduced bills last week to amend the 1998 voter-approved initiative, which banned the use of race and gender preferences in public-college admissions, contracting and hiring. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, who introduced the Senate bill, said it would put Washington state in compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which in 2003 said the University of Michigan law school could consider race in admissions as long as it served "a compelling state interest in student-body diversity."  In the same ruling, the court also struck down the University of Michigan's practice of granting race-based bonus points to applicants in its undergraduate admissions. "The [Senate] bill as crafted virtually mirrors the U.S. Supreme Court opinion," Kohl-Welles said. "It allows for consideration of race, national origin, color and ethnicity as a factor — I will repeat, as a factor — not the only factor in admission decisions."  Senate Bill 5575 and House Bill 1586 would amend the state Constitution, adding the following:  • Public colleges will not be prohibited from using race, ethnicity or national origin in admission or transfer policies.  • No race-based admission slots or bonus points may be used in admissions.  • All qualified applicants will be individually and holistically considered. Kohl-Welles said the bills failed last year because of a Republican majority in the Senate. Now that Democrats hold the majority, she thinks there is a better chance of passage. [more]