Read full text of the Supreme Court affirmative action decision and ruling in high-stakes case

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that race-conscious admission policies of Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution, bringing an end to affirmative action in higher education in a decision that will reverberate across campuses nationwide.

The court fell along ideological lines in the pair of cases, 6-3 and 6-2, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recusing herself in the Harvard case. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion covering both disputes.

Read the opinion in the cases, known as Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina: