The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) emailed a “Dear Colleague” Letter (DCL) to educational institutions receiving federal funds. The letter aims to “clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities” under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and other relevant authorities.

The DCL prohibits schools from using race-based preferences in decisions involving admissions, hiring, financial aid, and other programs. This builds on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which found race-conscious admissions policies unconstitutional. The DCL applies the SFFA decision not only to admissions decisions but to all school programs and operations.

Educational institutions are advised to:

1. Ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law;
2. Cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends; and
3. Cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that
   are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.

View the “Dear Colleague” Letter here.

View the U.S. Department of Education’s FAQs in connection with the “Dear Colleague” Letter here.