Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

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WI Court of Supreme Court

Case Name: Konkanok Rabiebna v. Higher Educational Aids Board

Case No 2022AP002026

Officials:

Focus: Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

A group of taxpayers challenged Wisconsin’s Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant Program, arguing that limiting eligibility based on race, ancestry, national origin, and alienage violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The state defended the program as a means of promoting diversity and improving retention and graduation rates among historically underrepresented students.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court first held that the taxpayers had standing because Wisconsin law allows taxpayers to challenge allegedly illegal expenditures of public funds.

On the merits, the court applied strict scrutiny because the statute classified students by race and related characteristics. Relying heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), the court concluded that the state had not demonstrated a compelling governmental interest sufficient to justify the classifications. It found that neither promoting diversity nor equalizing educational opportunities for selected groups was adequately supported by evidence tied to the statute’s enactment. The court also held that the program was not narrowly tailored because race and related classifications were the decisive eligibility criteria rather than one factor in an individualized assessment.

The court therefore affirmed the court of appeals, declared the program unconstitutional, and enjoined the Higher Educational Aids Board from administering it.

Decided 06/18/26

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