U.S. Air Force Academy sued over race-conscious admissions

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The group behind many affirmative action lawsuits and a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious admissions is turning its attention to military academies using race as a factor in admissions, and the U.S. Air Force Academy is its next subject.

Advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a lawsuit in Colorado federal court on Tuesday against USAFA, just days after a federal district court rejected their challenge of race-conscious admissions policies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The lawsuit alleges that the academy is in violation of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment by considering race as a factor when accepting applicants.

The group is now hoping that a judge declares the academy's use of race in admissions is unconstitutional and prohibits the school from considering or knowing an applicant's race when making admissions decisions.

"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 SFFA, said. "The Air Force Academy has no legal justification for treating applicants differently by race and ethnicity."

According to USAFA, ethnic and racial minorities comprise 38% of the Class of 2028, making it one of the top two diverse classes in the academy's history.