Education Department Investigating More Than 50 Universities Over Race-Based Policies

The department has warned schools and colleges that they could lose federal funds over racial discrimination.

U.S. Department of Education building in Washington on July 6, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Department of Education is investigating more than 50 universities for racial discrimination in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which the administration considers as discriminatory against certain students based on race, ethnicity, and other criteria.

The department announced the investigations Friday after issuing a memo stating schools and colleges could lose federal money over race considerations in admissions, scholarships, and more.

“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “We will not yield on this commitment.”

The department is focusing on colleges’ partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit with the stated goal of diversifying the business world by helping minorities receive business degrees. According to department officials, colleges working with the PhD Project are employing race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.

Among the 45 colleges being investigated over their involvement with the PhD Project include renowned public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State, and Rutgers, as well as prestigious private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The PhD Project released a statement defending its practices, saying it focuses on developing business leaders of the future.

“This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision,” it said.

Arizona State did not contribute to the PhD Project this year. On Feb. 20, it alerted faculty it would not support travel to the nonprofit’s annual conference. Ohio State said in a statement that the university does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or any other so-called protected class.

In addition, the department is investigating six other colleges for awarding race-based scholarships: Grand Valley State University, Ithaca College, the New England College of Optometry, the University of Alabama, the University of South Florida, and the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa. The University of Minnesota is also being investigated for allegedly running a program that segregates students on the basis of race.

In 2023, a Supreme Court decision prohibited colleges from using race as a factor in admissions in a decision involving the practices of Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The Department of Education has used the ruling as a precedent to forbid race-based practices in not only higher education, but also K-12.

The department’s investigation followed a Feb. 14 memo by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that called discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin illegal and morally reprehensible, citing the 1964 Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.

“In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families,” stated Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights United States Department of Education, in the memo.

The memo accuses colleges, universities, and K-12 schools of using race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, and other institutional programming.

“In a shameful echo of a darker period in this country’s history, many American schools and universities even encourage segregation by race at graduation ceremonies and in dormitories and other facilities,” Trainor said.

The OCR memo is being challenged in federal lawsuits from the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions—The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFT-Maryland, and the American Sociological Association—who said the memo is too vague and violates the free speech rights of educators.

The Department of Education has also taken aim at colleges and universities it alleges failed to act in the face of anti-Semitism on campuses.

On March 7, the department, along with the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. General Services Administration, canceled approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University, citing the school’s inaction amid harassment of Jewish students.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.