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Educational Institutions Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College Affirmative Action

Stevens & Lee

Does Your DEI Program Violate the False Claims Act?

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On May 19, 2025, the DOJ announced the establishment of the “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative,” which seeks to use the False Claims Act (FCA) to investigate, and possibly take civil action against, recipients of federal funds...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

The False Claims Act Enters the School Zone

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On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act (FCA) as a basis for investigating the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

The Future of the False Claims Act

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On May 19, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum titled Civil Rights Fraud Initiative announcing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) plan to use the False Claims Act (FCA) to “aggressively” pursue...more

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

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

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

Littler

OCR Issues FAQs for Schools About Avoiding Racial Preferences Under Title VI

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After giving educational institutions two weeks to comply with the Department of Education’s Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), on February 28, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued Frequently Asked Questions About Racial...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

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

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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

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

Quarles & Brady LLP

Office for Civil Rights Issues “Dear Colleague” Letter Aimed At Curbing Race-Based Decisions and Benefits At Federally Funded...

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On Friday, February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter advising federally funded schools that it considers any decisions or benefits based on race,...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

Venable LLP

DEI and Potential False Claims Act Liability in Higher Education

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Imagine you're sitting in a conference room with a group of administrators and staff across various schools and departments, discussing budgetary constraints, campus resources, and student group initiatives—a day like any...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

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

OCR Issues Dear Colleague Letter Addressing DEI Programs Under Title VI

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

Woods Rogers

Dear Colleague: Watch Out

Woods Rogers on

In a tersely worded “Dear Colleague” letter dated February 14, 2025 (pdf), the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) signaled its intent to combat “pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and...more

Venable LLP

Education Roundup: Challenges to DEI Efforts Continue in the Wake of Students For Fair Admissions

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Institutions of higher education (IHEs) and prospective applicants continue to grapple with the shifted landscape of admissions practices after the United States Supreme Court's Students for Fair Admissions decision...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...

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

Jenner & Block

DEI in the Crosshairs: Reflections On 2023 And Predictions For 2024

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From the classroom to the boardroom, attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) gained significant momentum in 2023. Bolstered by their victory at the Supreme Court in the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) cases,...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Opinion Continues To Spawn Challenges to DEI Programs

Key Points - - In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, challenges to DEI initiatives have focused on programs that facially appear to provide a zero-sum advantage based on protected...more

FordHarrison

Have You Audited Your DEIA Initiatives? If Not, You Should

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Executive Summary: Following the Supreme Court’s decision in SFFA v. Harvard/UNC, Attorneys General from 13 states and United States Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas sent letters to business leaders, warning of potential legal...more

Fisher Phillips

6 Steps for Private and Independent Schools in the Wake of the SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling

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Seeing the barrage of lawsuits following the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding the use of race in admissions in higher education has left many in K-12 independent and private schools scratching their...more

Akerman LLP

Navigating the Affirmative Action Prohibition

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The Supreme Court made history when it issued its long-awaited opinion regarding the constitutionality of affirmative action in Harvard College and University of North Carolina cases. As our practice update explained, SCOTUS...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Harvard/UNC Decision on the Nonprofit Sector

Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, No-20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. University of North Carolina et. al, No....more

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