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US military academy ends racial preferences for enrollment

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Policy changes could lead to the resolution of litigation against both service agencies.

The US Air Force Academy and US Military Academy in West Point said race is no longer a factor in the admissions process. This is a policy change that could bring ongoing litigation closer to settlement.

In another letter sent to federal courts in Colorado and New York on Friday, the academy requested a 60-day suspension in a lawsuit filed against them for a fair hospitalization (SFFA) claiming that the admission policy in question was no longer effective.

SFFA, which secured a groundbreaking victory in the Supreme Court in 2023, cut racial-based admissions at both public and private universities, filed a lawsuit against the military academy shortly after the verdict. At the time, the court explicitly exempted the academy from the same constitutional standards applied to private institutions, and Secretary John Roberts admitted there may be “potentially clear benefits” in maintaining a racially diverse boardroom.

The policy changes stem from an order issued by President Donald Trump, according to the Academy. President Donald Trump comes from his commitment to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across all branches of the US military.

To implement the President’s vision for the military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses ordered the department to eliminate DEI initiatives and offices, including ceasing to consider their race and sex when recognizing cadets at military academies.
The Colorado Springs-based US Air Force Academy said in its letter it has already ended its racially-based admissions practices in accordance with a series of White House and Pentagon directives. These include the February 6 memorandum issued by the representative secretary of Air Force Gwendolyn DeFilippi, who recently ordered the exclusion of “quotas, objectives and goals based on organizational composition, academic entry, career field, and class composition.”

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According to the Academy, the central constitutional question of the SFFA lawsuit is whether previous policies violated the Fifth Amendment by allowing racial considerations in admission decisions. However, the current admission process for service institutions “is no longer allowed race, ethnic or gender considerations.”

The Academy asked the court to maintain the case for 60 days, but discussed it with SFFA to determine whether policy changes were sufficient grounds to resolve the case.

Similarly, West Point (which was also north of New York City) said it took all necessary steps to comply with the president’s orders and the agency’s policy memos to ensure that race and ethnicity were no longer a factor in enrollment. The Academy said it will continue to discuss the possibility of a settlement with SFFA using a 60-day period.

“At this point, the parties continue to discuss details of West Point’s new policy and its impact on the lawsuit,” the school said in its own letter.
The development comes two weeks after the U.S. Naval Academy attempted to suspend a lawsuit brought by the SFFA, saying it no longer views race, ethnicity, or gender as an admissions factor. A federal judge determined in December 2024 that the Annapolis-based academy could continue to use racial preferences in the admissions process.

SFFA president Edward Blum did not immediately respond to requests for comment but praised the Naval Academy’s decision.

“Fair enrollment students welcome the announcement that the U.S. Naval Academy will end an unfair and illegal racial-based admissions policy,” he said in a statement in March. “Racism is wrong, and racial classifications do not exist in our country’s military academies.”



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