Which case held that the male-only admissions policy at Virginia Military Institute violated the Equal Protection Clause?

• A. United States v. Virginia (1996)
• B. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• C. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• D. Roe v. Wade (1973)

Answer: (A)

The question tests how the Equal Protection Clause treats gender-based admissions policies in public education. United States v. Virginia held that Virginia Military Institute’s policy of admitting only men violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Court applied heightened scrutiny to sex-based classifications and found that the school had not shown an exceedingly persuasive justification for excluding women. Traditions or the claim that a single-sex environment provides a special benefit were not enough, because women could be admitted under substantially equivalent standards and the state hadn’t demonstrated a sufficiently strong objective to justify the difference. As a result, the male-only policy was unconstitutional, and the institution had to admit women or provide a constitutionally equivalent program.

The other cases address different issues and contexts: Brown v. Board of Education concerns racial desegregation in schools; Plessy v. Ferguson upholds “separate but equal” racial separation; Roe v. Wade concerns abortion rights. None of these set the standard for gender-based admissions in public education.