(Franklin County, MA) State and local officials have joined together in statements responding to today’s Supreme Court ruling on two cases involving Affirmative Action in higher education, the process of taking race into consideration for admissions to colleges and universities.
Senator Jo Comerford, the Senate Chair of Higher Education wrote:
“As a Commonwealth, Massachusetts has always valued access to higher education as a key tool to advance opportunity for all. Education can help close the aching racial wealth gap, dramatically improve health outcomes, and open up myriad doors to opportunity and equitable economic growth. This misguided Supreme Court decision threatens to turn back the clock on decades of progress. Thankfully, Massachusetts will not yield. At this moment – perhaps more than ever before – I am heartened by the Senate’s generational investment in public higher education in the fiscal year 2024 budget and the work ahead to make community college free.”
Governor Maura Healey, along with education leaders, civil rights advocates, and other elected officials issued the following statement:
“Massachusetts will always be welcoming and inclusive of students of color and students historically underrepresented in higher education. Today’s Supreme Court decision overturns decades of settled law. In the Commonwealth, our values and our commitment to progress and continued representation in education remain unshakable.
We will continue to break down barriers to higher education so that all students see themselves represented in both our public and private campus communities. Massachusetts, the home of the first public school and first university, will lead the way in championing access, equity, and inclusion in education.
We want to make sure that students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first generation students, and all students historically underrepresented in higher education feel welcomed and valued at our colleges and universities. Today’s decision, while disappointing, will not change our commitment to these students. We have an imperative to make sure our schools reflect our communities. Our academic competitiveness, the future of our workforce, and our commitment to equity demand we take action.”