The U.S. Department of Education today released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in connection with its February 14 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). The Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued the DCL to educational institutions receiving federal funds and notified them that they must cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, scholarship, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and other programs and activities. The DCL promised that additional guidance would be forthcoming, and these FAQs anticipate and answer questions that may arise in response to the DCL.
“The Dear Colleague Letter is clear: The Trump Department of Education will not allow educational institutions that receive federal funds to discriminate on the basis of race,” said Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. “These FAQs will facilitate compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause, and Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard.”
The FAQs provide information on issues including:
- Can schools separate students by race or encourage students to self-separate by race?
- Are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs unlawful under Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard?
- As part of their admissions process, may schools include application essay prompts that invite discussions of race?
- How will OCR investigate allegations of covert discrimination?
- How will OCR proceed with schools that it determines are out of compliance with Title VI?
Read the FAQs here.
This FAQ document will be updated periodically as questions arise.