Air Force Academy facing lawsuit over race-conscious admissions

The group that overturned affirmative action in most universities is suing the Air Force Academy in an attempt to extend its win to the nation’s military schools.

Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed the lawsuit on Tuesday alleging the academy was violating the Fifth Amendment in using race as a factor in its admission process.

“Over the past few decades, the Air Force Academy and our other military academies have strayed from their former colorblind, merit-based admissions policies and now focus on race and ethnicity — factors that do not contribute to the qualifications of applicants,” Edward Blum, president of the group, said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes after a federal judge in Maryland ruled last week against SFFA’s challenge to the admissions policies of the Naval Academy.

The judge in the case said the court “defers to the executive branch with respect to military personnel decisions.”

While SFFA says they plan to appeal the decision, the move to sue the Air Force Academy, which trains cadets for the Air Force and Space Force, shows its desire to expand these efforts to all military institutions.

Back in 2023 when the Supreme Court ruled universities could not use race as a factor in admissions, it said military institutions have a national security interest in having a diverse class.

“Because the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 opinion in the SFFA case expressly forbids all institutions of higher education from using race in admissions decisions, it must follow that the Air Force Academy must end their race-based policies as well,” Blum said.

“The Air Force Academy has no legal justification for treating applicants differently by race and ethnicity,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to the Air Force Academy for comment.

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