The case, Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, is one of several controversial cases on the docket in the 2013-14 term, which begins Monday.
The justices are also set to decide cases concerning campaign finance, prayer at legislative meetings, and abortion rights.
If the justices decide in Michigan voters’ favor, it could lead to a spate of states banning affirmative action through ballot initiatives and would almost certainly result in declining enrollments of minority students in public colleges around the country.
In 2006, Michigan voters approved a measure to amend the state constitution to prohibit the government from “discriminat[ing] against, or grant[ing] preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” The voter initiative, called the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, effectively banned affirmative action at state schools.
