The Department of Education is going to enforce the Civil Rights Act not just one colleges and universities’ admissions decisions, but also very broadly to public and private elementary and high schools across the country, according to a Feb. 14 letter by Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
The letter enforces President Donald Trump’s Jan. 21 executive order “Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” ordering all federal departments and agencies including the Department of Education to enforce federal civil rights laws on states including schools and universities under Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The Trump executive order stated in part, “the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education shall jointly issue guidance to all State and local educational agencies that receive Federal funds, as well as all institutions of higher education that receive Federal grants or participate in the Federal student loan assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., regarding the measures and practices required to comply with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).”
