The Education Department has launched investigations into more than 50 universities for alleged racial discrimination as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
These investigations are aimed at ensuring students are assessed based on merit and accomplishment rather than their race, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
The big picture: Many of the inquiries are centered on colleges’ partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit organization that assists students from underrepresented groups in obtaining business degrees to diversify the business world.
- The department asserts that colleges engaged in the PhD Project exhibit race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.
- Forty-five universities, including public institutions like Arizona State, Ohio State, and Rutgers, as well as prestigious private schools like Yale, Cornell, and MIT, are under scrutiny for their connections to the PhD Project.
- Additionally, six other colleges are facing investigations for granting impermissible race-based scholarships, while another is accused of segregating students based on race.
Driving the news: President Trump’s administration issued a memo on Feb. 14 outlining limitations on race-based policies in education, following a Supreme Court decision in 2023 that prohibited colleges from considering race in admissions. The memo aims to expand this decision’s scope to prevent race-based practices in all aspects of education, from K-12 schools to higher education.
- The memo faces challenges in federal lawsuits by the nation’s largest teachers’ unions on grounds of being vague and violating educators’ free speech rights. Acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Craig Trainor, claimed that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in schools have incorporated racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into training and programs.
