Affirmative Action Curbed in Colleges

Florida banned race and gender preferences in college admissions, part of Gov. Jeb Bush’s “One Florida” plan to end affirmative action. In Tallahassee, Bush and the independently elected Cabinet voted, 4 to 2, to stop considering race and gender as admission factors. The plan, effective immediately, instead promises that students who graduate in the top 20% of their high school class and complete a college preparatory curriculum will get into at least one of the 10 state universities. The changes, which take effect immediately, were approved last week by the Board of Regents. Similar bans are in force in California, Washington and Texas, the latter because of a federal court order.