What’s New
Colleges got another signal over the weekend of how President Trump might crack down on identity-based programs and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights on Saturday issued a guidance document of “frequently asked questions about racial preferences and stereotypes” — describing the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI, the federal law barring discrimination in education based on race, color, and national origin.
The Details
Are DEI programs illegal under the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil-rights law? It depends, the new guidance says.
Programs focused on particular cultures and regions “would not in and of themselves” be illegal as long as they are open to all students, the Q&A states. Nor would activities related to Black History Month or International Holocaust Remembrance Day, “as long as they do not engage in racial exclusion or discrimination.”
Colleges must consider whether such campus programs discourage “members of all races from attending,” which could be illegal, the document says.
But graduation ceremonies, housing, scholarships, and student-support programs that operate based on identity likely do run afoul of the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI.
“Schools may not operate policies or programs under any name that treat students differently based on race, engage in racial stereotyping, or create hostile environments for students of particular races,” the Q&A states.
Both public colleges and private colleges receiving federal funding will be held to the same standards, per the document.
In the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning the consideration of race in college admissions, the guidance asserts, the court articulated broader rules that have implications for any consideration of race in higher ed. First, colleges cannot use a student’s race as a stereotype or a negative. Second, any “racial classifications or distinctions” on campus must clear a high bar to be constitutional.
Therefore, the Q&A argues, colleges shouldn’t use race to determine how limited educational resources — including scholarships and administrative support — are distributed.
Moreover, colleges shouldn’t offer any programs, graduation ceremonies, housing, or similar opportunities that separate students based on race, the guidance says. Such efforts are effectively a modern-day “separate but equal” system, the Q&A argues, citing Brown v. Board of Education, the seminal 1954 decision barring school segregation.
Later, the Q&A describes several instances of “extreme practices at a university” that may qualify as illegal “school-on-student harassment,” such as:
- “requiring students to participate in privilege walks”
- “investigating or sanctioning them for dissenting on racially charged issues through DEI or similar university offices”
- “mandating courses, orientation programs, or trainings that are designed to emphasize and focus on racial stereotypes”
The Backdrop
The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to investigate colleges over DEI efforts. The Q&A builds on a bombshell Dear Colleague letter, issued February 14, asserting that the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling outlawing the consideration of race in college admissions should apply more broadly to other aspects of campus life. The letter gave colleges until Friday to come into compliance.
The American Council on Education issued a statement last week on behalf of more than 60 higher-ed associations, asking the Education Department to rescind the Dear Colleague letter. “Efforts to build inclusive and diverse campus communities are neither discriminatory nor illegal,” Ted Mitchell, ACE’s president, said.
Still, over the past few weeks, many institutions have preemptively scrubbed DEI language from their websites and discontinued certain programs and initiatives.
Last week, the University of Iowa ended three identity-based living-learning communities in its residence halls. The University of Southern California removed online references to a scholarship for Black and Indigenous students. And Ohio State University closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
What to Watch For
Some critics have alleged that Trump’s guidance is censorship and would prevent students and staff from discussing race or DEI.
A lawsuit filed last week by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association argues that the Dear Colleague letter oversteps the Education Department’s authority by attempting to regulate classroom content, and misinterprets the Supreme Court’s ruling on race in admissions.
The Q&A acknowledges that the guidance doesn’t supersede the First Amendment, and that the Education Department is barred by law from restricting classroom teaching. However, neither the First Amendment nor curricular sovereignty give colleges the ability to ignore hostile environments created by race-based policies and programs, the guidance asserts.
A separate lawsuit against Trump’s executive orders banning DEI — brought by a coalition of groups, including the American Association of University Professors and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education — led a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction. That court order did not apply to the Dear Colleague letter.
