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After being rejected from the UT School of Law because of his race, Heman Sweatt (with the help of the NAACP) took the University to court. In Sweatt v. Painter, the Supreme Court ordered the integration of the law and graduate schools at UT.
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The Supreme Court rules in California v. Bakke that while some affirmative action policies are protected by the Constitution, universities may not set quotas for minority students.
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In Hopwood v. Texas, the Supreme Court bars UT from considering race in admissions and financial aid decisions.
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The top ten percent law is created when the Texas legislature approves HB 588. The law guarantees admission to any public state university to all Texas high school students graduating in the top ten percent of their class.
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Eighty-one percent of freshmen entering UT in fall 2008 are admitted under the ten percent rule.
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In March, UT President Bill Powers calls the influx of students admitted under the ten percent rule “a crisis,” saying that the University doesn’t have space to admit them all. The state legislature passes a bill allowing UT to cap its automatically admitted students at 75 percent of the incoming class—effectively changing the ten percent rule into an eight percent rule. The rule has gone into effect for freshman entering this fall.
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In Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court upholds the University of Michigan’s use of affirmative action. This decision abrogates—or effectively repeals—the ruling in Hopwood.
