A white woman who claims the University of Texas improperly denied her admission because of race is getting a second hearing before a federal appeals court.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to take another look at whether the school's race-based admissions policy remains necessary to ensure a diverse student body.
University officials say race plays a role in only 25 percent of admissions and that the complex formula they use for the rest makes it impossible to know if race was the deciding factor in the case of Abigail Fisher, whose admission was denied in 2008.
The appeals court had initially denied Fisher's appeal. Although normally based in New Orleans, the court will hold Wednesday in Austin, where the university is based.
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