Calif. Measure Barring Racial Preferences Reinstated

A federal appeals court last week reinstated a California constitutional amendment that bars state and local governments from using racial or gender preferences in education, employment, and contracting.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit unanimously overturned a federal district judge who had blocked the ballot measure known as Proposition 209 from taking effect. The district judge ruled last December that the amendment, passed by California voters in November, likely violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

School officials throughout the state have been warned that if the measure takes effect, they no longer would be allowed to conduct minority-teacher-recruitment programs or set aside percentages of public contracts for companies owned by women or...