How affirmative action ruling affects Massachusetts – The Boston Globe

When the Supreme Court took up the issue of racial admissions in 1978, Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. enumerated the powerful benefits of an inclusive and representative student body, declaring, “The nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to the ideas and mores of students as diverse as this Nation.”

I emphatically agree with his assessment, that beyond the importance of safeguarding higher education opportunities for students of color, a racially diverse student body benefits institutions themselves, allowing them to better prepare their student citizens for the critical leadership and professional roles they will ultimately assume. The whole of society benefits when the highest pursuits of knowledge are enriched by the multitude of backgrounds and worldviews that come with a representative student body.

I started my career in education as a history teacher in the Boston Public Schools just over two decades ago. Among the many moving experiences in that role were the spirited debates with and among my students on American history’s complicated matters. Those discussions were made better because of the unique lived experiences of each of my students and the personal perspectives they shared as they challenged history and its lasting effects.

Just like in my classroom in Boston, a multitude of perspectives will always add value to our institutions of learning. That’s why the Healey-Driscoll administration is throwing our full force into making sure Massachusetts remains welcoming and inclusive of all students. We have formed an Advisory Council for the Advancement of Representation in Education, bringing stakeholders together to assess the decision’s impact and to craft strategies within the law that allow schools to maintain representative student bodies — so students, colleges, and our greater society can continue to benefit from the invaluable input from students of color, LGBTQ students, and other students historically underrepresented in higher education.

In 1996, California voters voted to prohibit state universities from considering race in admissions — afterward, the University of California system saw enrollment of students of color fall sharply. The California system has yet to reach levels of representation seen prior to that decision. We cannot let that happen here.

advance access to college and career readiness tools for Massachusetts students, the state has expanded student and family access to the free online Massachusetts Education Financing Authority’s Pathway college planning tool and increased the number of public schools that use My Career and Academic Plan, a best-practice, postsecondary planning model administered by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Access to these tools will allow even more students historically unrepresented in higher education to get the support and guidance they need to see themselves achieving the higher learning and career opportunities available to them.

Knowing Grandma Woods as I did, the court’s ruling would be a source of profound concern. But if there’s something to celebrate for her sake, it’s that the state, institutions of higher education, civil rights experts, and advocates are united in our commitment to provide access to educational opportunities for all the Commonwealth’s students. Even this disappointing decision, with all its faults, begrudges that colleges and universities can continue to consider how race has “affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise” and how that student’s individual experience can and will uniquely “contribute to the university.”

With this as a starting point, Massachusetts, the home of the first public school and first university, will lead the way in making sure our schools continue to reflect our communities and our values.

Patrick Tutwiler is the secretary of education of Massachusetts.