The Trump administration is increasing the stakes in the president’s battle against wokeness by ordering American colleges and universities two weeks to stop their university programs or face losing federal funding. This is creating uncertainty as schools rush to comply.
The Education Department issued an ultimatum Friday to cease utilizing racial considerations in hiring, financial assistance, admissions, and other areas. Schools have 14 days to stop any practices that discriminate against employees or students based on their race.
College instructors around the country were scrambling to assess their risk and determine whether to defend what they perceived to be lawful practices. From college application questions to classroom instruction and student groups, the all-encompassing demand has the potential to completely disrupt campus life.
It aims to address widespread discrimination in education, which the document characterized as frequently targeting Asian and white students.
According to Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, schools have been functioning under the guise that choosing students for diversity or other similar euphemisms does not involve choosing them based on race. No more. Merit, accomplishment, and character should all be taken into consideration when evaluating students.
University organizations and civil rights organizations strongly objected to the guidelines. Some people think that its ambiguous wording is intended to chill people, forcing schools to exclude anything that mentions race, even if it may be justified in court.
According to Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents, the goal is not so much a clear statement of the law as it is to create a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses.
President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives is extended in this document. It basically represents a shift in how antidiscrimination rules are interpreted by the federal government. It uses the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling prohibiting race as a determining factor in college admissions as legal support. The document claims that even if the decision solely addressed to admissions, it has broader implications.
In other words, it said that educational institutions are not allowed to divide or segregate pupils on the basis of race or to assign advantages or disadvantages according to race.
The Education Department said Monday that it also slashed $600 million in subsidies for teacher training organizations. According to the government, the programs encouraged contentious ideas including social justice activism, critical race theory, and DEI.
The new guidelines aim to eliminate racial discrimination in hiring, promotion, graduation ceremonies, housing, and financial aid. Additionally, it specifically targets college admissions, implying that universities have attempted to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling.
According to the memo, it will now be considered a violation of federal law to use non-racial information as a stand-in for race. For instance, it stated that it is illegal for universities to remove standardized test requirements in order to boost racial diversity or get the intended racial balance.
For a number of reasons, dozens of universities in the US have eliminated SAT and ACT requirements in recent years.
According to Angel B. Prez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the guidelines go beyond the Supreme Court’s ruling and are virtually certainly going to be contested in court. According to him, the letter seeks to outlaw race even in the hiring of prospective students, even if the Supreme Court’s ruling prohibits it as a criterion for assessing candidates.
According to Prez, long-standing practices like hiring in underrepresented areas or purchasing lists of prospective students with specific academic and demographic data could suddenly turn into legal problems.
Companies that serve as matchmakers and provide a pool of possible applicants who fit specific requirements, such as the College Board and ACT, have long marketed lists of students to institutions.
According to Prez, colleges and universities will find themselves in a difficult situation. Though they are aware that their actions are legal, they fear that their lack of federal money will cause them to collapse if they do not comply.
The memo targets college application essays and raises concerns about the extent to which universities should encourage students to discuss their racial backgrounds and other personal experiences. According to the guidelines, institutions are not allowed to use essays to determine a student’s race.
Although he cautioned that colleges could not utilize essays as a covert method to take applicants’ race into account, Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court stated that nothing in the case prohibits universities from taking into account an applicant’s explanation of how race affected his or her life.
President Santa J. Ono stated in a statement to the University of Michigan campus that officials are trying to comprehend the ramifications.
According to several universities, the message won’t make much of a difference. According to a campus statement from Rob Odom, vice president of university relations and marketing at Oregon State University, a legal assessment found that the university’s programs are completely compliance with all state and federal laws.
It seems that scholarships intended for students from specific racial origins are the target of the department memo. Some universities and institutions have chosen to do away with racial requirements for certain scholarships, sparking a legal dispute over whether the Supreme Court’s ruling applies to financial aid.
There is disagreement about the question, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, which is attempting to ascertain how the letter would impact student aid.
But, the group added in a statement, “We do know that 14 days is not enough time for schools to assess and implement any necessary changes to be in compliance.” Uncertainty over when or whether they will receive the financial aid they have been depending on is the last thing students need when they are planning how to pay for college.
At last week’s confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, the nominee for education secretary, the ambiguity around Trump’s directive was evident. When asked if African American history lectures would violate the president’s directive, McMahon replied she wasn’t entirely sure.
