The passage of the law will end a legal challenge pending in Springfield federal court challenging the Minority Teachers program for unconstitutionally favoring people based on race in the name of "diversifying" the ranks of public school teachers in Illinois. Those who brought the challenge declared victory in the days after Pritzker signed the new law. "Illinois cannot disqualify students from competing for a taxpayer-funded college scholarship because of their race," said attorney Samantha Romero-Drew, of the nonprofit constitutional legal advocacy organization, the Pacific Legal Foundation. "Race-based discrimination is a blatant violation of the Equal Protection Clause."