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Equal Protection › Educational Institutions

The Equal Protection Clause is a section of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution that provides that "no state shall...deny to any citizen within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the... more +
The Equal Protection Clause is a section of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution that provides that "no state shall...deny to any citizen within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Essentially, the Equal Protection Clause provides that the government must treat an individual the same way that it treats other individuals in the same circumstances. The 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause applies only to state governments, but the requirements of the clause apply to the federal government through the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment. less -
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Finds Taxpayer-Funded College Grant Program to Be Unconstitutional

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On February 26, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II, determined that a program that provided taxpayer-funded educational grants to financially needy students of specific racial, national origin, and ancestry...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Federal Court Refuses to Lift Preliminary Injunction Blocking DEI Executive Orders, While EEOC, USDOE, and State AGs Address DEI...

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Last week brought further developments related to the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail what it views as illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

U.S. Department of Education’s Guidance Clarifies Discriminatory Activities Subject to Investigation and Funding Consequences

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Following its February 14, 2025, “Dear Colleague Letter,”outlining DEI programs that could result in a loss of federal funding by February 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (the “Department”)...more

Pullman & Comley - School Law

OCR, DEI and Connecticut Schools – Sorting Through a Legal Minefield

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If nothing else, the early days of the Trump administration 2.0 have been a whirlwind of legal activity.  Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have of course been at the forefront and on February 14, 2025 the federal...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

A New Chapter for Educational Institutions: DOE Prohibits Use of Race in All Aspects of Student, Academic, Campus Life

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) directing educational institutions that they are prohibited from using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring,...more

Dentons

Iowa 2025 Legislative Session – Week 7

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Last week, Iowa Republicans fast-tracked legislation related to civil rights and gender identity in Iowa, and hundreds of protesters convened at the Capitol each day. New bills continued to be introduced ahead of the first...more

Shipman & Goodwin LLP

OCR Issues “Dear Colleague” Letter on Racial Discrimination

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On February 14, 2025, the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance clarifying how the Department will interpret federal laws that prohibit schools and other entities receiving...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

OCR’s Directive on Race-Conscious Policies in Higher Education

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On February 14, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (DOE) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), which calls for educational institutions to immediately cease race-conscious practices in student...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Department of Education’s February 14 Dear Colleague Letter on Title VI and Equal Protection: Overview, Open Issues, and...

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INTRODUCTION - On February 14, 2025, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (the “Assistant Secretary”) at the United States Department of Education (the “Department”) circulated a Dear Colleague Letter (the “DCL”)...more

Morgan Lewis

US Department of Education Issues Sweeping Guidance on Race-Conscious Practices By Academic Institutions

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The US Department of Education’s (the Department’s) Office for Civil Rights issued a sweeping “Dear Colleague” letter on February 14, 2025 outlining a new zero-tolerance policy for the consideration of race in any regard by...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: What Employers and Educational Institutions Need to Know about the Attorney General’s February 5th Memo on...

Whiteford on

On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Attorney General (“AG”) Pam Bondi issued a memorandum to all Justice Department employees titled “Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination and Preferences,” outlining the Department of...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

OCR Issues Dear Colleague Letter Addressing DEI Programs Under Title VI

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On Jan. 21, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO), “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” Broadly speaking, the EO purported to prohibit what it characterized as unlawful...more

Roetzel & Andress

U.S. Department of Education Releases Guidance on DEI Programs in Schools Receiving Federal Funds

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The legality of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) Programs has come under immense scrutiny beginning with the change in presidential administration. On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued executive order 14173...more

Littler

U.S. Department of Education’s New “Dear Colleague” Letter Targets DEI Programs and Signals New Era of Title VI Enforcement

Littler on

On February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a “Dear Colleague” Letter (DCL) and emailed it to K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions around the country. The DCL...more

Miller Nash LLP

Challenges for Education Institutions Continue: New “Dear Colleague Letter” Targets Educational Equity Efforts

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On Friday, February 14, 2025, the United States Department of Education (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) setting out its interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

The U.S. Department of Education Issues Dear Colleague Letter: Clarifies Guidelines for Title VI Compliance

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On Feb. 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” Letter providing compliance guidelines to educational institutions receiving federal funding and subject to Title VI of the...more

Franczek P.C.

U.S. Department of Education Opens Title IX Investigations Into the Minnesota State High School League and the California...

Franczek P.C. on

As we shared in a previous alert, in early February, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which restricts transgender women and girls from participating in women’s athletic...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Keeping Education Accessible and Ending COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools (Trump EO Tracker)

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The order establishes a federal policy that prohibits the use of discretionary federal funds to support or subsidize educational institutions that require COVID-19 vaccinations for in-person attendance. It directs the...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Back to the Future: What a Recent Vacatur, Executive Order, and Dear Colleague Letter Mean for Title IX Compliance

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Within the last month, three developments have rocked the Title IX world: the Eastern District of Kentucky’s decision in State of Tennessee v. Cardona, President Trump’s Executive Order restricting the federal definition of...more

BCLP

State of Tennessee v. Cardona: Implications of the Vacatur of the 2024 Title IX Regulations

BCLP on

On April 19, 2024, the Department of Education released its final Title IX regulations regarding sexual discrimination in federally-funded education (the “2024 Title IX Rules”)....more

Franczek P.C.

2024 Title IX Final Rule and Regulations Vacated by Federal Judge

Franczek P.C. on

On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Judge John C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an opinion and order vacating the Final Rule that implemented the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The decision by Judge Reeves has the...more

Clark Hill PLC

Federal Court Declines to Extend Affirmative Action Decision Into Military Academy Admissions

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The use of race in college admissions has been a hot-button issue for decades and most recently came to a head in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 600 U.S. 181 (2023), where the...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Federal Court Declines to Extend SFFA Decision Into Military Academy Admissions

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As McGuireWoods explained in previous alerts, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) left open several questions on its impact on higher...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

DEI Under Scrutiny, Part VI: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case Over Race-Neutral Measures Allegedly Intended to Increase Racial...

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The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review a case alleging that facially race-neutral admissions criteria at a selective Virginia public high school were unlawfully intended to strike a racial balance, leaving...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Supreme Court Allows West Point to Continue to Use Race in Admissions (For Now)

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On June 29, 2023, admissions policies and practices of many higher ed institutions were forced to pivot when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that using race to make admissions decisions violated the Equal Protection Clause of...more

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