The U.S. Naval Academy has announced it will no longer use affirmative action in its admissions process — ceasing to consider race, ethnicity, or sex as factors for entry.
This decision was explained in a federal court filing made public on Friday.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the elimination of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and ending affirmative action in hiring and admissions.
The Associated Press reports:
The change in policy was made in February by Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, the academy’s superintendent, in response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January, according to a court filing by the U.S. Justice Department in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The president’s order on Jan. 27 said that “every element of the Armed Forces should operate free from any preference based on race or sex.” It also directed the secretary of defense to conduct an internal review with respect to all “activities designed to promote a race- or sex-based preferences system,” including reviews at the service academies.
“Under revised internal guidance issued by the Superintendent on Feb. 14, 2025, neither race, ethnicity, nor sex can be considered as a factor for admission at any point during the admissions process, including qualification and acceptance,” according to the court filing made public Friday.
The policy change comes amid an ongoing legal challenge from Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a conservative group that successfully overturned affirmative action at civilian universities in a 2023 Supreme Court ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Although that decision included a footnote exempting military academies due to their “potentially distinct interests,” SFFA sought to extend the ban to the Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
In October 2023, SFFA sued the Naval Academy, arguing that its admissions process unfairly discriminated against white and Asian applicants by prioritizing racial diversity.
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