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With efforts to use race as a factor in college admissions faltering once again in Olympia, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People plans to announce today that its campaign will get a boost from the American Jewish Congress. The NAACP has been backing two bills in the Washington Legislature that would let the state's colleges and universities use race or national origin as a factor in admitting students, just as they already use economic status or specific talents. Phyllis Beaumonte, education chairwoman for the state NAACP, hopes the addition of the new group will help "make sure that Washington state is not perceived as a state that is unfriendly to African Americans and persons of color." One bill already has died in the House, and a similar one in the Senate -- SB 5575 -- faces a tough battle, said its sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle. The main roadblock for both bills is Initiative 200, which voters approved in 1998 to prohibit the use of race or gender in public education and government hiring, Kohl-Welles said. Legislators are reluctant to pass bills that would change the impact of that initiative, she said. As a fallback plan, Kohl-Welles has introduced SB 6073 to give the University of Washington and Washington State University about $700,000 over the next two years to conduct comprehensive reviews of all applicants. The bill also would require colleges and universities to establish policies on diversity in admissions. [more]