The Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action in College Admissions: What ADEA Members Need to Know

November 15, 2024

June 29, 2023—On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on two cases on the consideration of race in college admissions. The two cases—Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina—overturned the decades-old precedent it upheld back in 2003.

ADEA reaffirms our commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging throughout oral health education and within the boundaries of the law. ADEA supports our community of schools, faculty, educators and their respective oral health programs in compliance with federal law admissions practices.

ADEA maintains its commitment to develop programs and initiatives to help our Member Institutions fulfill the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standards related to a humanistic environment, graduating culturally competent oral health professionals, in alignment with of our vision of a well-prepared and diverse oral health workforce that is improving the health of all individuals and communities.

ADEA reminds its member community of its compliance with humanistic standards developed by CODA. We continue to assess how today’s ruling affects our membership community. Additional communication regarding this important issue is forthcoming.

For more information about ADEA’s diversity, equity and inclusion programming, visit adea.org/adi or contact us at diversity@adea.org.


About ADEA: The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is The Voice of Dental Education. Our mission is to lead and support the health professions community in preparing future-ready oral health professionals. Our members include all 80 accredited U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 800 allied and advanced dental education programs, more than 55 corporations and approximately 15,000 individuals. Our activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings and communications, including the esteemed Journal of Dental Education®, as well as the dental school application services ADEA AADSAS®, ADEA PASS®, ADEA DHCAS® and ADEA CAAPID®.