A federal trial challenging the U.S. Naval Academy's practice of considering race in admitting students will begin Monday morning.

The group that persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to bar the consideration of race in college admissions took the U.S. Naval Academy to trial on Monday in an effort to end a carve-out that allows military academies to still employ affirmative action policies.

The group "Students for Fair Admissions" is suing the Academy, arguing its admissions policies illegally discriminate when deciding who should be admitted into the school.

Strawbridge accused the Naval Academy of “balancing” the number of applicants it admits from racial groups each year, noting the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Harvard’s admissions policies for the same reason. That ruling did not apply to military colleges.

A landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2023 had a potential exemption for military academies, which is the subject of this suit against the Naval Academy.

The question of whether the Naval Academy can continue to consider an applicant’s race in its admissions process now rests in the hands of a federal judge. Lawyers on either side of the legal question presented closing arguments Thursday in Baltimore’s U.

The U.S. Naval Academy wants to keep considering race when admitting new trainees at its officer training school. Attorneys in an ongoing civil trial in Maryland said that it helps ensure a diverse military and garner respect,

The Supreme Court banned race-conscious admissions practices for most schools but left a possible national security exception for military academies.