In the Virginia Military Institute case, the Supreme Court required ________ for single-sex schools.

• A. a notable basis
• B. a compelling justification
• C. an exceedingly persuasive justification
• D. a rational basis

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is the level of scrutiny used for gender-based government classifications. In the Virginia Military Institute case, the Supreme Court held that when a state acts to exclude or differentiate by sex in education, it must show an exceedingly persuasive justification for that discrimination. This sets a notably higher bar than ordinary rational basis review and sits alongside the idea of heightened scrutiny for gender. The Court found that VMI’s male-only policy didn’t meet that rigorous standard, so the policy violated the Equal Protection Clause. The phrase exceedingly persuasive justification is the precise standard the Court used, which is why that option is the best answer.