The Supreme Court says it will dive back into the fight over the use of race in admissions at the University of Texas, a decision that presages tighter limits on affirmative action in higher education.
The justices said Monday they will hear for a second time the case of Abigail Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission to the university's flagship Austin campus in 2008.
The conservative-leaning federal appeals court in New Orleans has twice upheld the university's admissions process, including in a ruling last year that followed a Supreme Court order to reconsider the Fisher's case.
Greg Fenves, the new president of the University of Texas says the school's use of race in some admissions creates a diverse student body that's an educational benefit. Fenves says the policy is "narrowly tailored" and constitutional.
Most of the student body enters under the state's so-called "top 10 percent rule" and the school includes race as a factor in reviewing additional applicants who meet a formula for personal achievement.
The Associated Press provided this story.
