As campus officials are aware, the U.S. Education Department’s (ED) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter on February 14 to institutions of higher education to “clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools.”
The letter points out that it does not have the force and effect of law and does not create new legal obligations. Rather, it is ED’s effort to clarify its intent to implement relevant law consistent with its understanding of that law. OCR retains great discretion to pursue investigations consistent with current priorities.
The department’s communication covers a variety of topics and activities, and a good deal of its language is provocative. The letter states that “treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.” This statement, and much of the Dear Colleague letter generally, relies on the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College (SFFA), which did not address institutional programs and related policies outside of admissions and thus did not directly concern community colleges. President Donald Trump’s January 21 executive order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” indicated that further administration policies would flow from the SFFA decision.
The communication further states that OCR will “take appropriate measures to assess compliance with the “understanding embodied in this letter” no later than February 28, “including antidiscrimination requirements that are a condition of receiving federal funding.” So expect further communications or actions from ED in this area.
As campuses evaluate ongoing activities in light of ED’s letter, remember that the underlying statutes and case law that govern campus policies have not changed. The student success agenda is deeply embedded in community college practice in a way that is designed to help all students from all backgrounds benefit fully from the educational offerings.
