basic gist
the court holds that Race as an admissions criterion in colleges can only be permitted within the confines of narrow restrictions, which must comply with strict scrutiny, cannot be used as either a stereotype or negative, and at some point, must end. And they hold that the Harvard and UNC programs violate all those criterion.
if I'm reading the opinion correctly, they are not completely gutting affirmative action in every way shape and form, but they are cutting it down dramatically and won't allow race based criterion in general.
Quote
For the reasons provided above, the Harvard and UNC
admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack
sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting
the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end
points. We have never permitted admissions programs to
work in that way, and we will not do so today.
At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this
opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities
from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise. See, e.g., 4 App. in No. 21–707, at 1725–
1726, 1741; Tr. of Oral Arg. in No. 20–1199, at 10. But,
despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities
may not simply establish through application essays or
other means the regime we hold unlawful today. (A dissenting opinion is generally not the best source of legal advice
on how to comply with the majority opinion.) “[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,” and the prohibition against racial discrimination is “levelled at the thing,
not the name.” Cummings v. Missouri, 4 Wall. 277, 325
(1867). A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage
and determination. Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership
role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s
unique ability to contribute to the university. In other
words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race.
Essentially, they
can still consider race, if race is tied exclusively to the traits of a person as an individual in their lived experience, but
not as a general trait, giving any kind of blanket score handicap or negative.