Keith Cunningham-Parmeter
94 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 322
Most colleges require applicants to disclose their criminal histories. Sweeping in scope, these admissions questions extend beyond violent crimes to include minor offenses such as shoplifting and marijuana possession. Given that students of color are arrested and punished at disproportionately high rates, colleges that require such disclosures run the risk of reinforcing underlying racial disparities.
Soon after the Supreme Court banned race-based affirmative action in college admissions, university presidents vowed to pursue race-neutral admissions strategies that would still yield diverse entering classes. Because criminal history boxes disproportionately affect students of color, removing these boxes from applications represents a race-neutral, diversity-enhancing admissions strategy. To test whether schools are actually pursuing this tactic, the Article presents original data on application questions from the “top 100” national universities during the 2024–2025 college admissions cycle. This novel dataset shows that criminal history boxes remain ubiquitous throughout college admissions. Namely, over two-thirds of schools required applicants to disclose their criminal histories and juvenile offenses.
Although colleges are just beginning to grapple with the consequences of criminal background questions, employers have dealt with this issue for decades. Most states have enacted “ban-the-box” laws, which require employers to refrain from posing criminal history questions until later stages in hiring. The Article considers how lessons from employment law can inform the development of similar policies in higher education. By banning the box in admissions, colleges can expand educational opportunities for underrepresented groups, foster inclusion, and combat the racialized consequences of conviction.
