Students for Fair Admissions sues U.S. Air Force Academy over race policy

National advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions is suing the U.S. Air Force Academy, alleging the school’s use of race in admissions is unconstitutional, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Colorado this week.

Students for Fair Admissions won a similar suit against Harvard College in 2023 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, and the new lawsuit comes less than a week after a federal judge in Maryland ruled against the organization’s effort to stop the U.S. Naval Academy from considering race in admissions.

The group filed a complaint against the school, north of Colorado Springs, on Tuesday, asking a judge to declare the academy’s use of race in admissions unconstitutional and issue an order preventing officials  “from considering or knowing applicants’ race when making admissions decisions,” according to court records.

An academy spokesperson declined to comment on the case Thursday, citing the ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit, which also names the U.S. Department of Defense and top military and government officials, alleges the Air Force Academy is violating the Fifth Amendment as “one of the last remaining universities to expressly consider race as a factor in admissions.”

Attorneys for the group claim the Fifth Amendment’s equal-protection principle applies to the federal government in the same way the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause applies to the states.

Students for Fair Admission has “at least one member,” a high school student, who is ready and able to apply for the academy and may be adversely affected by the admissions policy because they are white, according to the complaint.

“If the Academy is allowed to continue making admissions decisions based on applicants’ race, SFFA’s members… will suffer harm because they will be denied the opportunity to compete for an Air Force appointment on equal grounds, solely because of their race,” attorneys for the group wrote in the filing.

Preliminary scheduling hearings are set to begin in January.