A recent study conducted by law professors at Yale, New York University, and Northwestern confirms what many law schools are fearing amidst last year’s Supreme Court ban on affirmative action. Such bans negatively impact the racial diversity of law student populations.
The study analyzed law school admissions data from 1980 to 2021, across 23 public law schools in 12 states with affirmative action bans. The researchers found that, on average, the bans produced a decline in diversity between 10 and 17 percent, and that “Black and Hispanic students account for nearly all this decline.”
At highly-ranked schools, the impacts of a ban were magnified. The study found that among included schools ranked in the U.S. News’ Top 20, such as UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, UCLA, and the University of Texas, student diversity fell by between 36 to 47 percent.
Across all law schools, not just those in states with affirmative action bans, the researchers found that minority students have been underrepresented in 80 to 90 percent of entering law school classes. While the law student population has diversified over time and underrepresentation has decreased, the proportion of minority law students still lags behind that of the population. And, based upon national population statistics, amongst minority law students, Black and Hispanic students have been consistently underrepresented, while Asian students have been overrepresented.
There is still room for measured optimism. Last year’s entering law class was the most diverse on record. And, mid-cycle data released by LSAC showed this year’s applicant numbers were up and driven by a surge in minority applicants. Hopefully this is a precursor to another record-breaking year.