The court’s rulings upheld the University of Michigan’s use of race in law school admissions but said that the use of a point system in undergraduate admissions was a violation of the equal protection clause.

 “The cases before the court were about diversity.  In an educational environment diversity is necessary to achieve a well balanced and culturally inclusive student body,” said Fattah. “The Supreme Court’s recognition of that must be applauded.”

Congressman Fattah along with 60 of his colleagues filed an amicus brief on behalf of the university citing

that the Supreme Court could not in good conscience end Affirmative Action until K-12 education for poor

children is corrected. “Along with the millions of minority students in this country, who are casualties of substandard education I am pleased that the nation’s highest court saw merit in our argument - that

everyone is deserving of an equal educational opportunity,” emphasized Fattah.

With today’s split decision however, the mission to provide an equal educational opportunity for all students is even more critical.  “As legislators and educators, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that students in K-12 are receiving the necessary tools required to compete and succeed at the college level. Highly qualified teachers, small class sizes, a rigorous academic curriculum, updated textbooks and computers, qualified school counselors, state of the art libraries are all fundamentals that guarantee a student’s ability to thrive on the post secondary level,” said Congressman Fattah.

 “Just as a chef can’t bake a cake without an egg nor a contractor build without nails, our nation's schools can’t produce highly competitive students without the necessary educational tools and resources,” said Congressman Fattah.