On Aug. 7, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum entitled “Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions,” directing the Secretary of Education to “expand the scope of required Integrated...more
On July 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination, warning that many programs and initiatives labeled as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion...more
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), as passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025, contains a provision that would modify the excise tax paid by certain private colleges and universities on net investment...more
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General announced its new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which aims to use the False Claims Act (FCA) to investigate and pursue claims against entities...more
On May 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Nondiscrimination Requirements for Medical Schools on the Basis of Race, Color, and National Origin pursuant to Students...more
UPDATE No. 2 (Feb. 18, 2025): On Feb. 14, 2025, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) published an Electronic Announcement (GE-25-02) extending the deadline for evaluating Completers’ Lists and reporting data associated...more
In his first two weeks in office, President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders affecting educational institutions. One order, signed Jan. 29, 2025, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” targets...more
On Jan. 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance through a Dear Colleague Letter that, if left in place by the new administration, could significantly expand Federal Student Aid program reviews, attorney...more
On Jan. 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum to all executive departments and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, requiring a temporary pause of federal financial assistance by...more
On Dec. 23, 2024, President Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA), amending the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The SCHA requires recipients of federal...more
On Jan. 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky vacated the entire 2024 Title IX final rule in State of Tennessee v. Cardona, No. 2:24-00072 (Jan. 9, 2025). The Department of Education had issued...more
In the wake of the newly adopted Biden-era Title IX regulations, one question that continues to prompt debate among educational institutions and courts alike is whether employees can sue their employers under Title IX of the...more
The U.S. Department of Education announced it will formally rescind the 2023 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on Third-Party Servicers (GEN-23-03) by Nov. 18, 2024. As explained in our prior Feb. 21, 2023, and April 12, 2023,...more
On April 4, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in CCST v. U.S. Dept. of Education, reversing the order of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, and granting a...more
On March 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education published an electronic announcement delaying the reporting deadline for institutional data related to the Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT)...more
On March 27, 2024, in a long-awaited decision that carries major implications for 501(c)(3) organizations and independent schools, the Fourth Circuit held that an independent school’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status did not...more
On Aug. 14, 2023, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education (DOJ and ED) issued guidance to institutions of higher learning concerning the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v....more
On July 3, 2023, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA), a new challenge is arising related to collegiate admissions....more
7/7/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the affirmative action student admissions practices at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in a pair of cases brought by Students for...more
7/6/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
On May 19, 2023, the Department of Education (ED) published in the Federal Register proposed regulations concerning gainful employment (GE), threatening to cut off federal financial aid for approximately 1,800 career training...more
On April 6, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Department of Education addressed the treatment of transgender students in sports.
Specifically, in West Virginia, et al. v. B.P.J., by her next friend and mother,...more
On April 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education announced in a blog post that it will delay the Sept. 1, 2023, effective date of its Dear Colleague Letter on third-party servicers and institutions (DCL). The new effective...more
On March 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will hold individuals representing corporations or other legal entities, including a member of the board of directors or a chief executive officer, personally...more
On Feb. 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance that significantly expands the definition of “third-party servicer” to include services completed by many online program managers (OPMs) and entities...more
Historically, most independent schools have not been subject to Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 because they do not accept federal funds. As a result, many independent schools carefully evaluate whether to...more