#WorkforceWednesday: The Ripple Effect of the Supreme Court’s SFFA Ruling for Diversity in the Workplace - Employment Law This Week®
Business Better Podcast Episode: Is DEI at Risk? Considerations on the US Supreme Court Ruling Against Affirmative Action Programs
On August 14, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that the U.S. Department of Education violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the U.S. Constitution when it did not follow proper...more
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a press release announcing the ED sent certification letters to state commissions that oversee K-12 State Education Agencies (SEAs), charging SEAs with the...more
On March 5, Do No Harm filed a lawsuit against the American Chemical Society (ACS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, challenging a scholarship program for undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in...more
On March 5, 2025, the National Education Association (NEA) and its New Hampshire affiliate (NEA-NH) sued the U.S. Department of Education, challenging a recently issued “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) that informed schools that...more
On March 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document in connection with the February 14 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). This document aims to clarify how...more
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
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
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
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
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
On February 14, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a new "Dear Colleague" letter to "clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance...more
On February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) concerning discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in K-12 and higher education. The DCL articulates the...more
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
On February 14, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Education (DOE) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter threatening the federal funding of any academic institution that considers race in any manner...more
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
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
On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”). The Order states that over 60 years following the enactment...more
As 2023 ends, despite the visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, it is a good time to take stock of government initiatives affecting your Affirmative Action practice, the better to get ready for 2024. Many things...more
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in higher education in June 2023, effectively foreclosing the consideration of race in and of itself in that context. Although the Court’s decision was...more
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
The U.S. Supreme Court held the use of race in university and college admissions is unconstitutional in its Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. decisions on June 29, 2023. The Court’s ruling directly addresses only the...more
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court overturned a decades-old precedent that held race-based affirmative action policies in higher education institutions were constitutional. However, in Students for Fair...more
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division have published a joint Dear Colleague Letter (Joint OCR and DOJ DCL) that, together with a Q&A, provides...more
Colleges and universities can still take steps to foster diverse and inclusive campuses — even after the Supreme Court’s decision severely limiting race-conscious admissions in education, according to the latest guidance from...more
As expected, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Students for Fair Admissions Inc.’s lawsuit against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, which challenged the constitutionality of the universities’ race...more